Wealthcare Capital Partners LLC Acquires Shares of 2,748 Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Wealthcare Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 2,748 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $296,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in DUK. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 6,719,398 shares during the period. Groupama Asset Managment purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the third quarter valued at $2,537,000. Zimmer Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the third quarter valued at $166,263,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position 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. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 13,829.1% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,125,607 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $129,782,000 after purchasing an additional 1,117,526 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company's stock.

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Duke Energy Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:DUK traded down $0.99 during trading on Friday, hitting $111.92. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,121,783 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,223,619. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.70. Duke Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $90.09 and a fifty-two week high of $121.25. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $109.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $112.94. The company has a market capitalization of $86.46 billion, a PE ratio of 20.59, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.50.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 14.31%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.91 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.73%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 76.84%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on DUK shares. KeyCorp downgraded Duke Energy from an "overweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price target 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. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $122.08.

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.