Alliancebernstein L.P. Has $85.88 Million Stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Alliancebernstein L.P. decreased its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 797,133 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 3,809 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned about 0.10% of Duke Energy worth $85,883,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Parkworth Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its stake in Duke Energy by 1,500.0% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 288 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on DUK shares. Guggenheim upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $123.87.

Remove Ads

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:DUK traded up $0.62 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $117.48. The company had a trading volume of 1,224,144 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,925,953. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $116.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $113.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market cap of $91.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.39. Duke Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $92.75 and a 1-year high of $125.27.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.90% and a return on equity of 9.50%. Research analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.56%. Duke Energy's payout ratio is currently 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.