Hoey Investments Inc. Purchases New Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Hoey Investments Inc. acquired a new position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 330 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $36,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of DUK. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its position in Duke Energy by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 31,353 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,378,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,456 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $372,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Intergy Private Wealth LLC grew its position in Duke Energy by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Intergy Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,113 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $228,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its stake in Duke Energy by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 7,233 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $779,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Missouri Trust & Investment Co raised its position in Duke Energy by 10.3% during the fourth quarter. Missouri Trust & Investment Co now owns 1,071 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $115,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on DUK shares. UBS Group boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their target price 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. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.87.

Duke Energy Stock Up 2.2 %

NYSE:DUK opened at $122.07 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.44. Duke Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $92.75 and a 1-year high of $122.50. The company has a 50-day moving average of $115.42 and a 200 day moving average of $113.73. The firm has a market cap of $94.85 billion, a PE ratio of 21.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.