Uniting Wealth Partners LLC Makes New $213,000 Investment in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Uniting Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 1,980 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $213,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of DUK. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $163,819,000. Grant Private Wealth Management Inc purchased a new position in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $274,000. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Duke Energy by 57.4% during the fourth quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,519 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $917,000 after acquiring an additional 3,106 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors raised its position in Duke Energy by 121.6% in the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 19,713 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,124,000 after purchasing an additional 10,816 shares during the period. Finally, SevenBridge Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 51.8% in the 4th quarter. SevenBridge Financial Group LLC now owns 22,883 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,670,000 after purchasing an additional 7,805 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on DUK. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $123.87.

Duke Energy Stock Down 0.5 %

Duke Energy stock opened at $120.44 on Thursday. Duke Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $92.75 and a 1-year high of $122.50. The stock has a market cap of $93.58 billion, a PE ratio of 21.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $115.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $113.80.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.90% and a return on equity of 9.50%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.47%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.20%.

Duke Energy Company 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.