Keudell Morrison Wealth Management Increases Stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Keudell Morrison Wealth Management lifted its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 7,227 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the period. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $779,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 11,471.4% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 6,777,973 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $781,500,000 after purchasing an additional 6,719,398 shares during the period. Groupama Asset Managment purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the third quarter valued at about $2,537,000. Zimmer Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $166,263,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 155.1% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,873,321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $201,832,000 after buying an additional 1,138,979 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 13,829.1% in 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 period. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Duke Energy Price Performance

NYSE:DUK opened at $112.28 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $86.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.49. The business’s 50-day moving average is $110.09 and its 200 day moving average is $112.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $90.09 and a 12 month high of $121.25.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.06 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 9.34%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.94 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.91 earnings per share 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is currently 76.84%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on DUK. Mizuho upgraded shares of Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $116.00 to $121.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Scotiabank raised their target price on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.