Rhumbline Advisers Increases Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Rhumbline Advisers boosted its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 0.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,356,368 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,731 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers’ holdings in Duke Energy were worth $146,137,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. Creative Planning increased its stake in Duke Energy by 9.3% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 304,434 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $35,101,000 after acquiring an additional 25,937 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its stake in Duke Energy by 1.5% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 98,182 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $11,320,000 after acquiring an additional 1,441 shares during the last quarter. LexAurum Advisors LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy in the third quarter valued at $216,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its stake in Duke Energy by 5.1% in the third quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 7,137 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $823,000 after acquiring an additional 344 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy in the third quarter valued at $260,000. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on DUK. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of 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. Scotiabank upped 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 report on Thursday, December 12th. KeyCorp lowered shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.08.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of DUK opened at $111.69 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.45. Duke Energy Co. has a one year low of $90.09 and a one year high of $121.25. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $109.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $112.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.27 billion, a PE ratio of 20.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.50.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 9.34%. On average, analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.74%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.84%.

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.