Vaughan David Investments LLC IL Acquires 2,392 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Vaughan David Investments LLC IL lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 410,829 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,392 shares during the quarter. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL owned approximately 0.05% of Duke Energy worth $44,263,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of DUK. FourThought Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 14.9% in the 4th quarter. FourThought Financial Partners LLC now owns 24,486 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,638,000 after purchasing an additional 3,170 shares in the last quarter. Fairhaven Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Fairhaven Wealth Management LLC now owns 28,861 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,109,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter worth $317,000. BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new stake in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter worth $53,000. Finally, Crestwood Advisors Group LLC lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 5,379 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $580,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley cut 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 report on Friday, November 22nd. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $121.62.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.3 %

NYSE:DUK opened at $115.86 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $89.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.29, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.50. Duke Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $90.09 and a 1-year high of $121.25. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $110.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $113.03. 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 released its quarterly earnings results 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 14.90% and a return on equity of 9.50%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.61%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 73.20%.

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.