Empirical Finance LLC Has $2.82 Million Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Empirical Finance LLC lowered its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 26,162 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 328 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $2,819,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $115.01 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $109.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $112.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The company has a market cap of $88.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.14, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.50. Duke Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $90.09 and a 12-month high of $121.25.

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

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.63%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.84%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DUK has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Mizuho upgraded Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, KeyCorp cut shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.08.

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.