Essex Savings Bank Has $838,000 Stock Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Essex Savings Bank increased its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 6.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,782 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 438 shares during the period. Essex Savings Bank’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $838,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Goodman Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the second quarter worth $2,888,000. CCM Investment Advisers LLC lifted its position in Duke Energy by 24.3% during the 4th quarter. CCM Investment Advisers LLC now owns 83,610 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,008,000 after buying an additional 16,356 shares in the last quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 59.2% during the 3rd quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 23,388 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,697,000 after buying an additional 8,699 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,488,176 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,016,846,000 after acquiring an additional 442,302 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 86.5% during the fourth quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 148,703 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $16,021,000 after acquiring an additional 68,977 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Down 0.4 %

DUK stock opened at $106.39 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $82.18 billion, a PE ratio of 19.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. Duke Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $90.09 and a 52 week high of $121.25. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $110.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $111.87.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued 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). The business 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 firm’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.94 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.93%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 76.84%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DUK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. KeyCorp lowered Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Mizuho raised shares of Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Barclays lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Scotiabank increased their price target on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.