D.A. Davidson & CO. Increases Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 5.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 229,516 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 10,946 shares during the quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO.'s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $24,728,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Empower Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in Duke Energy by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,158,815 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $124,851,000 after purchasing an additional 33,926 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 743,593 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $80,115,000 after buying an additional 7,893 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 216,254 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $23,297,000 after buying an additional 2,861 shares during the period. Woodard & Co. Asset Management Group Inc. ADV lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Woodard & Co. Asset Management Group Inc. ADV now owns 21,194 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,283,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NTV Asset Management LLC grew its position in Duke Energy by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. NTV Asset Management LLC now owns 15,336 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,652,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Duke Energy Stock Up 2.1 %

DUK stock traded up $2.42 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $115.58. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,423,961 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,366,634. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $110.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $113.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $89.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.24, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. Duke Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $90.09 and a 52-week high of $121.25.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.50% and a net margin of 14.90%. As a group, equities analysts forecast 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. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.62%. Duke Energy's payout ratio is 73.20%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of 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. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $121.62.

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.