Private Wealth Management Group LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Private Wealth Management Group LLC increased its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 55.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 421 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. Private Wealth Management Group LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $45,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of DUK. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. CGC Financial Services LLC grew its position in Duke Energy by 366.7% in the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 308 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Duke Energy by 332.9% in the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 316 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy during the third quarter worth about $38,000. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Mizuho raised shares of Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research note 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. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.08.

Duke Energy Price Performance

NYSE DUK opened at $113.88 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.70. The company has a market capitalization of $87.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.93, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.50. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $109.91 and a 200 day moving average of $112.65. Duke Energy Co. has a one year low of $90.09 and a one year high of $121.25.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by ($0.11). Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 9.34%. The company had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.94 earnings per share. Duke Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.91 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

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 given a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.67%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 76.84%.

About Duke Energy

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.