Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 6.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 104,385 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 6,705 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.'s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $11,246,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Parkworth Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. CGC Financial Services LLC boosted its position in Duke Energy by 366.7% during the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 308 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Winch Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Duke Energy by 332.9% in the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 316 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Duke Energy Stock Performance
Shares of Duke Energy stock traded up $1.61 during trading on Thursday, hitting $118.25. 5,370,177 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,587,749. Duke Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $92.75 and a 52-week high of $121.25. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $91.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.71, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $112.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $113.40.
Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (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%. On average, research analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.
Duke Energy Announces Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.53%. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 73.20%.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on DUK. Scotiabank lifted their price objective 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. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price 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 increased their price target on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $122.93.
Read Our Latest Research Report on DUK
About Duke Energy
(
Free Report)
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.
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