City National Bank of Florida MSD Invests $299,000 in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

City National Bank of Florida MSD bought a new stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,774 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $299,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Parkworth Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1,500.0% during the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 270 shares during the period. Finally, CGC Financial Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 366.7% during the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 308 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $130.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Duke Energy from $128.00 to $123.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $126.00.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Duke Energy stock opened at $116.47 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $90.53 billion, a PE ratio of 20.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.39. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $99.21 and a 12 month high of $125.27. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $119.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $114.60. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.17. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.90% and a return on equity of 9.50%. The business had revenue of $8.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.44 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.32%.

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.