O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 13.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 115,075 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 13,248 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC's holdings in Duke Energy were worth $12,398,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of DUK. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Duke Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Parkworth Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Duke Energy during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 1,500.0% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 288 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DUK has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Guggenheim increased their price target on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $123.87.

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Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of DUK stock traded up $3.61 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $124.00. The stock had a trading volume of 7,425,059 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,263,152. The company has a market cap of $96.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. Duke Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $92.75 and a 12-month high of $124.66. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $115.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $113.80.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 14.90% and a return on equity of 9.50%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.37%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 73.20%.

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.