Capital Investment Counsel Inc Grows Stock Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Capital Investment Counsel Inc grew its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,373 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 212 shares during the quarter. Capital Investment Counsel Inc’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,441,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. PBMares Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. PBMares Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,886 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $563,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC now owns 6,591 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $760,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,730 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $315,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Private Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Private Wealth Partners LLC now owns 15,982 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,843,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clear Creek Financial Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 2,416 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $279,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on DUK. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. BMO Capital Markets raised 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. Finally, Scotiabank raised 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.08.

Duke Energy Stock Up 1.2 %

Duke Energy stock opened at $113.15 on Friday. Duke Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $90.09 and a fifty-two week high of $121.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.67. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $109.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $112.97. The company has a market capitalization of $87.40 billion, a PE ratio of 19.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.50.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Research analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.69%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 73.20%.

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.