Eastern Bank Increases Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Eastern Bank increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 12.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,947 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 666 shares during the period. Eastern Bank’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $641,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its position in Duke Energy by 11,471.4% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 6,777,973 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $781,500,000 after buying an additional 6,719,398 shares during the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the third quarter worth about $2,537,000. Zimmer Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the third quarter worth about $166,263,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 13,829.1% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,125,607 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $129,782,000 after purchasing an additional 1,117,526 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 65.7% during the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 2,052,969 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $205,769,000 after purchasing an additional 813,744 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.4 %

Duke Energy stock opened at $106.29 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.70. The firm has a market cap of $82.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.49. Duke Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $90.09 and a 1 year high of $121.25. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $110.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $111.83.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.06 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 14.31%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.94 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 76.84%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DUK has been the topic of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $138.00 target price on the stock. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. 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. Finally, KeyCorp cut shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.23.

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.