Virginia Wealth Management Group Inc. Has $4.24 Million Stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Virginia Wealth Management Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 39,340 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 339 shares during the quarter. Duke Energy accounts for 2.6% of Virginia Wealth Management Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Virginia Wealth Management Group Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $4,238,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Weaver Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Duke Energy by 13.9% in the fourth quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC now owns 13,605 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,466,000 after buying an additional 1,656 shares in the last quarter. Groesbeck Investment Management Corp NJ acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $618,000. Spirit of America Management Corp NY grew its position in Duke Energy by 26.3% during the 4th quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY now owns 15,150 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,632,000 after acquiring an additional 3,150 shares during the last quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $192,000. Finally, Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,737 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $941,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on DUK. Mizuho raised Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $116.00 to $121.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. KeyCorp cut shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.08.

Duke Energy Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:DUK opened at $112.46 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $110.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $112.61. Duke Energy Co. has a one year low of $90.09 and a one year high of $121.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.87 billion, a PE ratio of 20.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.50.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.06 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 14.31%. The business’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.94 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.72%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 76.84%.

About Duke Energy

Duke Energy Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an energy company in the United States. It operates through two segments: Electric Utilities and Infrastructure (EU&I), and Gas Utilities and Infrastructure (GU&I). The EU&I segment generates, transmits, distributes, and sells electricity in the Carolinas, Florida, and the Midwest.