Lantz Financial LLC Has $648,000 Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Lantz Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,011 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the quarter. Lantz Financial LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $648,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in Duke Energy by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 296,463 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,941,000 after buying an additional 9,070 shares during the last quarter. apricus wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. apricus wealth LLC now owns 20,036 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,159,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Chemung Canal Trust Co. increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Chemung Canal Trust Co. now owns 14,260 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,536,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Nepsis Inc. lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 246.9% in the 4th quarter. Nepsis Inc. now owns 55,947 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,028,000 after purchasing an additional 39,818 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atlas Private Wealth Advisors boosted its position in Duke Energy by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Atlas Private Wealth Advisors now owns 4,294 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $463,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

DUK opened at $109.86 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $84.87 billion, a PE ratio of 20.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.49. Duke Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $90.09 and a 1 year high of $121.25. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $110.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $112.21. 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 (NYSE:DUK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share 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 net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 9.34%. Duke Energy’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.94 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.92 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.80%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 76.84%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on DUK shares. Mizuho upgraded shares of Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Scotiabank raised their price target on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, KeyCorp lowered Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.23.

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.