LifePlan Financial LLC Boosts Stock Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

LifePlan Financial LLC raised its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 28.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 7,977 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,748 shares during the quarter. LifePlan Financial LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $859,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of DUK. PBMares Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. PBMares Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,886 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $563,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. Castleview Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 4.9% during the third quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 1,944 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $224,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Kanawha Capital Management LLC raised 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 acquiring an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 3.5% in the third quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,730 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $315,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chicago Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 10,163 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,172,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Duke Energy stock opened at $109.34 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $110.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $112.12. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $90.09 and a 12 month high of $121.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.47 billion, a PE ratio of 20.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.49.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.06 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 9.34%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.94 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.82%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 76.84%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Mizuho upgraded Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $116.00 to $121.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. KeyCorp cut Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Scotiabank raised their price objective 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. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.23.

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.