Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Purchased by Precedent Wealth Partners LLC

Precedent Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 10,028 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 144 shares during the period. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,080,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of DUK. PBMares Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 1.8% in the third quarter. PBMares Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,886 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $563,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Castleview Partners LLC lifted its position in Duke Energy by 4.9% during the third quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 1,944 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $224,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Kanawha Capital Management LLC increased its position in Duke Energy by 1.4% during the third quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC now owns 6,591 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $760,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 3.5% in the third quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,730 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $315,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chicago Capital LLC increased its position in Duke Energy by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 10,163 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,172,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of DUK stock opened at $109.86 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $110.26 and a 200-day moving average of $112.21. Duke Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $90.09 and a 12-month high of $121.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.49.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.06 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 9.34%. Duke Energy’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.94 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.92 earnings per share 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 given a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 76.84%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DUK has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. KeyCorp downgraded Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Mizuho upgraded Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.23.

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.