GWN Securities Inc. Takes $1.89 Million Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

GWN Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 17,219 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,891,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in DUK. Groupama Asset Managment bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the third quarter worth about $2,537,000. Zimmer Partners LP acquired a new position in Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $166,263,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 155.1% in the fourth 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 during the period. Capital Wealth Planning LLC raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 116.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 2,065,344 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $222,520,000 after buying an additional 1,111,581 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 29.2% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,488,849 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $269,368,000 after buying an additional 561,784 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Guggenheim lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted 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. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $123.64.

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Duke Energy Trading Up 0.7 %

DUK traded up $0.86 during trading on Thursday, reaching $120.17. The company had a trading volume of 4,343,902 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,984,473. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $113.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $113.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.67. The company has a market cap of $93.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.05, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48. Duke Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $92.75 and a 12-month high of $121.47.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 net margin of 14.90% and a return on equity of 9.50%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued 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 3.48%. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio is 73.20%.

About Duke Energy

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.