Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Acquired by Merit Financial Group LLC

Merit Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 11.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 32,963 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 3,311 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in Duke Energy were worth $3,551,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. PBMares Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. PBMares Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,886 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $563,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Castleview Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 4.9% in the third quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 1,944 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $224,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Duke Energy by 1.4% during the third quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC now owns 6,591 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $760,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Duke Energy by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,730 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $315,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chicago Capital LLC lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 10,163 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,172,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on DUK. Mizuho upgraded Duke Energy from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price target for the company from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. KeyCorp lowered shares of Duke Energy from an "overweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price 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. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $122.23.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE DUK traded up $0.28 during trading on Monday, reaching $109.34. The stock had a trading volume of 2,928,344 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,915,086. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.70. The company has a market cap of $84.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.10, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.49. Duke Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $90.09 and a fifty-two week high of $121.25. The business's 50-day moving average price is $110.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $112.05.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($0.11). Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 9.34%. The firm had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.94 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.82%. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.