Centre Asset Management LLC Grows Stock Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Centre Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 7.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 5,721 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 408 shares during the quarter. Centre Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $616,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of DUK. Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 5.7% in the second quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 5,437 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $545,000 after acquiring an additional 291 shares during the period. Simon Quick Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the second quarter worth about $274,000. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Duke Energy by 15.0% during the 2nd quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,346 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,338,000 after buying an additional 1,736 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Effects LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the second quarter valued at about $204,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Duke Energy by 14.0% during the 2nd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,344 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $235,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. KeyCorp cut Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $138.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective 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. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.23.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DUK traded up $0.80 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $108.62. The stock had a trading volume of 240,897 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,519,204. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The firm has a market cap of $83.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.97, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.47. Duke Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $90.09 and a fifty-two week high of $121.25. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $111.95 and a 200-day moving average of $111.34.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.06 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 14.31%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.94 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were given a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.85%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.