Vest Financial LLC Increases Stock Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Vest Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 42.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 10,907 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,250 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,175,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CWM LLC raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 3.2% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 43,594 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,026,000 after purchasing an additional 1,342 shares during the last quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $200,000. LongView Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 45.8% in the 3rd quarter. LongView Wealth Management now owns 12,639 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,457,000 after acquiring an additional 3,972 shares during the period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1.2% in the third quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 19,406 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,237,000 after buying an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Asio Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy in the third quarter valued at $3,329,000. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE:DUK opened at $115.01 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $109.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $112.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $88.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 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.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.06 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 9.34%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.94 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.63%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.84%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on DUK shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Scotiabank increased their target price on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. KeyCorp downgraded Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Mizuho upgraded Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average 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.