Stonebridge Financial Group LLC Purchases New Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 640 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $69,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CX Institutional raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 10.8% in the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 3,474 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $401,000 after buying an additional 339 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 304,434 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $35,101,000 after acquiring an additional 25,937 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. increased its position in Duke Energy by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 9,510 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,097,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares during the period. Provident Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the third quarter valued at $226,000. Finally, Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 11.4% during the third quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,028 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $464,000 after purchasing an additional 413 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on DUK shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on 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 raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.08.

Duke Energy Stock Down 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE DUK opened at $113.89 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The firm has a market cap of $87.98 billion, a PE ratio of 20.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.50. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $109.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $112.93. Duke Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $90.09 and a 12-month high of $121.25.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 9.34%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.67%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 76.84%.

Duke Energy Profile

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.