Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Position Increased by Financial Partners Group LLC

Financial Partners Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 39.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,956 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,525 shares during the quarter. Financial Partners Group LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $965,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. PBMares Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake 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 valued at $563,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. Castleview Partners LLC boosted its position 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 grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC now owns 6,591 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $760,000 after buying an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Duke Energy by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,730 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $315,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the period. Finally, Chicago Capital LLC raised its stake in Duke Energy by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 10,163 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,172,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $109.37 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $84.48 billion, a PE ratio of 20.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.49. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $90.09 and a 12 month high of $121.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $110.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $112.17.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly 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). The company had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.06 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 14.31%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.94 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.82%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 76.84%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. KeyCorp lowered Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Mizuho raised shares of Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. 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 report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on 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. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.23.

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.