Metis Global Partners LLC Has $6.24 Million Stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Metis Global Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 4.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 57,899 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,685 shares during the quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $6,238,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Groupama Asset Managment acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $2,537,000. Zimmer Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $166,263,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 155.1% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,873,321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $201,832,000 after buying an additional 1,138,979 shares during the period. Brookfield Corp ON increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 112.6% in the third 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. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 2.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,488,176 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,016,846,000 after buying an additional 442,302 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Duke Energy stock opened at $117.50 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.58, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.50. Duke Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $90.09 and a 52-week high of $121.25. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $111.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $113.13. 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 (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 73.20%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DUK has been the subject of several recent research reports. 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 note on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Duke Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $121.62.

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.