Abound Financial LLC Buys Shares of 2,054 Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Abound Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 2,054 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $221,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 11,471.4% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 6,777,973 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $781,500,000 after acquiring an additional 6,719,398 shares in the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment bought a new stake in Duke Energy during the third quarter worth about $2,537,000. Zimmer Partners LP bought a new stake in Duke Energy during the third quarter worth about $166,263,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 155.1% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,873,321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $201,832,000 after acquiring an additional 1,138,979 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 13,829.1% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,125,607 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $129,782,000 after acquiring an additional 1,117,526 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Scotiabank upped their target price on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $121.62.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Duke Energy stock opened at $115.58 on Friday. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $90.09 and a 12 month high of $121.25. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $110.10 and its 200-day moving average is $113.01. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. The company has a market capitalization of $89.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.24, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.50.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.50% and a net margin of 14.90%. Equities research analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 73.20%.

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.