First Dallas Securities Inc. Boosts Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

First Dallas Securities Inc. increased its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 10,059 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the quarter. First Dallas Securities Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,084,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. abrdn plc increased its stake in Duke Energy by 41.0% in the 4th quarter. abrdn plc now owns 363,139 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $38,939,000 after buying an additional 105,647 shares during the period. Trust Point Inc. increased its stake in Duke Energy by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 7,220 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $778,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the period. E&G Advisors LP increased its stake in Duke Energy by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. E&G Advisors LP now owns 5,700 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $614,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Optas LLC increased its stake in Duke Energy by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. Optas LLC now owns 2,609 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $281,000 after buying an additional 375 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $45,523,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

DUK opened at $113.21 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.45 billion, a PE ratio of 20.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.49. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $110.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $112.57. Duke Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $90.09 and a 12-month high of $121.25.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share (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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.94 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.91 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.69%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 76.84%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price 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. Mizuho upgraded shares of Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. KeyCorp cut shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.08.

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.