TCW Group Inc. Increases Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

TCW Group Inc. lifted its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,817 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the period. TCW Group Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,165,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of DUK. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 35.0% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 50,308 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,834,000 after purchasing an additional 13,056 shares in the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors grew its stake in Duke Energy by 18.7% during the third quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 11,089 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,279,000 after acquiring an additional 1,747 shares in the last quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Duke Energy by 2.7% during the third quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 22,246 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,565,000 after acquiring an additional 593 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its stake in Duke Energy by 10.7% during the third quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 208,291 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $24,185,000 after acquiring an additional 20,183 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its stake in Duke Energy by 6.9% during the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 89,685 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,340,000 after acquiring an additional 5,770 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on DUK shares. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of 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. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of 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 lifted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $121.62.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Duke Energy stock opened at $115.86 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $110.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $113.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $89.50 billion, a PE ratio of 20.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. Duke Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $90.09 and a 12-month high of $121.25.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

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 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 3.61%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 73.20%.

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.