Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Bought by Wedbush Securities Inc.

Wedbush Securities Inc. grew its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 7.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 16,940 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,244 shares during the period. Wedbush Securities Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,825,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Groupama Asset Managment acquired a new position in Duke Energy during the third quarter worth $2,537,000. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $163,819,000. Zimmer Partners LP acquired a new position in Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter worth about $166,263,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Duke Energy by 155.1% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,873,321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $201,832,000 after acquiring an additional 1,138,979 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Wealth Planning LLC increased its stake in Duke Energy by 116.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 2,065,344 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $222,520,000 after purchasing an additional 1,111,581 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

NYSE DUK opened at $118.91 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $116.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $113.86. The company has a market capitalization of $92.40 billion, a PE ratio of 20.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.39. Duke Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $92.75 and a 1 year high of $125.27. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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, analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 73.20%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on DUK. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Scotiabank increased their price target on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $123.87.

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.