First Horizon Advisors Inc. Buys 2,213 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 5.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 46,578 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 2,213 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $5,018,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 11,471.4% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 6,777,973 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $781,500,000 after buying an additional 6,719,398 shares during the period. Groupama Asset Managment acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,537,000. Zimmer Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $166,263,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 155.1% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,873,321 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $201,832,000 after purchasing an additional 1,138,979 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brookfield Corp ON increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 112.6% during the third quarter. Brookfield Corp ON now owns 1,002,811 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $115,624,000 after purchasing an additional 531,073 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on DUK shares. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Scotiabank raised their target price on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, 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 report on Friday, November 22nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $121.62.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of DUK stock traded up $0.31 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $115.86. The company had a trading volume of 2,731,287 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,347,902. Duke Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $90.09 and a 1-year high of $121.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The firm has a market cap of $89.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a 50 day moving average of $110.10 and a 200 day moving average of $113.00.

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 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, equities research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy's payout ratio is presently 73.20%.

Duke Energy Company 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.