Guardian Partners Inc. Purchases New Stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Guardian Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 125,036 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $13,533,000. Duke Energy makes up 1.4% of Guardian Partners Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. Groupama Asset Managment bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $2,537,000. Zimmer Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the third quarter worth about $166,263,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 155.1% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,873,321 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $201,832,000 after purchasing an additional 1,138,979 shares in the last quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 116.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 2,065,344 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $222,520,000 after purchasing an additional 1,111,581 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi increased its position in Duke Energy by 29.2% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,488,849 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $269,368,000 after purchasing an additional 561,784 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:DUK traded up $0.56 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $117.67. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,833,419 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,010,867. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $114.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $113.71. Duke Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $92.75 and a fifty-two week high of $121.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.61, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.67.

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Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 return on equity of 9.50% and a net margin of 14.90%. As a group, analysts forecast 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.55%. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.20%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DUK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $123.87.

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.