Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Bought by Aspen Wealth Strategies LLC

Aspen Wealth Strategies LLC increased its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 10.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 5,899 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 568 shares during the period. Aspen Wealth Strategies LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $636,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bailard Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 31,921 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,439,000 after acquiring an additional 3,139 shares in the last quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC now owns 52,097 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,613,000 after acquiring an additional 2,705 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 25.7% in the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 35,755 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,852,000 after acquiring an additional 7,319 shares in the last quarter. First Business Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $384,000. Finally, Pines Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,032,000. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.6 %

Duke Energy stock opened at $120.88 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $113.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $113.52. Duke Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $92.75 and a 52 week high of $121.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48.

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 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 forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.46%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 73.20%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on DUK shares. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Scotiabank raised 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. Morgan Stanley reduced 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 report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.93.

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.