Apollon Financial LLC Takes $2.73 Million Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Apollon Financial LLC purchased 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 purchased 25,360 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,732,000.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC now owns 52,097 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,613,000 after buying an additional 2,705 shares during the last quarter. CCM Investment Advisers LLC lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 24.3% during the 4th quarter. CCM Investment Advisers LLC now owns 83,610 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,008,000 after buying an additional 16,356 shares in the last quarter. Pines Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,032,000. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in Duke Energy by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 296,463 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,941,000 after buying an additional 9,070 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Corundum Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth $1,566,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of DUK opened at $115.01 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $88.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.50. Duke Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $90.09 and a 1 year high of $121.25. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $109.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $112.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.45.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($0.11). Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 14.31%. The company had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.94 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, 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 given a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 76.84%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DUK has been the subject of several recent research reports. Mizuho upgraded Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. KeyCorp cut shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price target 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. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.08.

Duke Energy 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.