Americana Partners LLC Buys 135 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Americana Partners LLC grew its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 2.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,807 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the quarter. Americana Partners LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $518,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Strategic Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 68,020 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,328,000 after buying an additional 1,680 shares during the period. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 5,179 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $558,000 after buying an additional 285 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 18.5% in the 4th quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 36,886 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,974,000 after buying an additional 5,749 shares during the period. Finally, Valmark Advisers Inc. grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 9,993 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,077,000 after buying an additional 224 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Duke Energy Price Performance

NYSE DUK opened at $110.85 on Wednesday. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $90.09 and a 12 month high of $121.25. The stock has a market cap of $85.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.38, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.50. The company’s 50 day moving average is $109.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $113.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 14.31% and a return on equity of 9.34%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.84%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DUK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective 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. Finally, KeyCorp downgraded shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.08.

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.