Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Acquired by Delta Financial Advisors LLC

Delta Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,004 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. Delta Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,078,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 11,471.4% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 6,777,973 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $781,500,000 after acquiring an additional 6,719,398 shares in the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment bought a new stake in Duke Energy during the third quarter valued at $2,537,000. Zimmer Partners LP bought a new stake in Duke Energy during the third quarter valued at $166,263,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 155.1% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,873,321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $201,832,000 after buying an additional 1,138,979 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brookfield Corp ON boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 112.6% in the 3rd quarter. Brookfield Corp ON now owns 1,002,811 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $115,624,000 after buying an additional 531,073 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DUK has been the topic of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. 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 Stock Performance

DUK stock opened at $117.29 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.67. Duke Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $90.09 and a 52 week high of $121.25. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $110.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $113.06. The stock has a market cap of $90.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.50.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.90% and a return on equity of 9.50%. Research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.56%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.20%.

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.