BKM Wealth Management LLC Boosts Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

BKM Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 22.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,164 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 587 shares during the quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $341,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 11,471.4% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 6,777,973 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $781,500,000 after purchasing an additional 6,719,398 shares during the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the third quarter valued at $2,537,000. Zimmer Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the third quarter valued at $166,263,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings 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 worth $201,832,000 after buying an additional 1,138,979 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in Duke Energy by 13,829.1% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,125,607 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $129,782,000 after buying an additional 1,117,526 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Duke Energy Trading Down 2.0 %

Duke Energy stock opened at $111.69 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. Duke Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $90.09 and a 12-month high of $121.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.50. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $109.85 and a 200 day moving average of $113.01.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 9.34%. As a group, research analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.74%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.84%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, KeyCorp cut Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.08.

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.