CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp Buys 2,601 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp increased its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 3.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 75,187 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,601 shares during the period. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp's holdings in Duke Energy were worth $8,101,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of DUK. Goodman Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 2nd quarter worth about $2,888,000. CCM Investment Advisers LLC boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 24.3% in the fourth quarter. CCM Investment Advisers LLC now owns 83,610 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $9,008,000 after buying an additional 16,356 shares in the last quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. grew its position in Duke Energy by 59.2% during the third quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 23,388 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,697,000 after acquiring an additional 8,699 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 2.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,488,176 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,016,846,000 after acquiring an additional 442,302 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 86.5% in the 4th quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 148,703 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $16,021,000 after acquiring an additional 68,977 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on DUK. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. KeyCorp lowered Duke Energy from an "overweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Duke Energy in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $138.00 price target on the stock. Mizuho raised Duke Energy from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $122.23.

Duke Energy Trading Up 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE DUK traded up $2.60 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $109.05. 2,899,029 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,065,203. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.70. Duke Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $90.09 and a 12-month high of $121.25. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $110.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $111.83. The firm has a market cap of $84.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.49.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last announced 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). Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 14.31%. The firm had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.94 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.