Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. Buys 100 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,640 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $500,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Delta Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Delta Financial Advisors LLC now owns 10,004 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,078,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 136.1% in the fourth quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 271,815 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,285,000 after purchasing an additional 156,705 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL increased its position in Duke Energy by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL now owns 410,829 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $44,263,000 after acquiring an additional 2,392 shares during the last quarter. FourThought Financial Partners LLC increased its position in Duke Energy by 14.9% during the fourth quarter. FourThought Financial Partners LLC now owns 24,486 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,638,000 after acquiring an additional 3,170 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fairhaven Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Duke Energy by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Fairhaven Wealth Management LLC now owns 28,861 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,109,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on DUK shares. Scotiabank upped their price objective 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 reduced 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. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $121.62.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

NYSE DUK opened at $117.29 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $90.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $110.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $113.06. Duke Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $90.09 and a twelve month high of $121.25.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released 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 return on equity of 9.50% and a net margin of 14.90%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is presently 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.