SBI Securities Co. Ltd. Acquires Shares of 6,547 Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 6,547 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $705,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of DUK. Kanawha Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 1.4% in the third quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC now owns 6,591 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $760,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,730 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $315,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 2,416 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $279,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 31,353 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,378,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 0.5% during the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 19,005 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,191,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DUK has been the topic of a number of research reports. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a 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 stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $121.62.

Duke Energy Trading Up 1.0 %

Duke Energy stock opened at $118.62 on Tuesday. Duke Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $90.22 and a 12-month high of $121.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.63 billion, a PE ratio of 20.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.50. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $111.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $113.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.44.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.50% and a net margin of 14.90%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.52%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 73.20%.

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.