Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Grows Stock Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 136.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 271,815 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 156,705 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $29,285,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of DUK. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 6,719,398 shares during the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,537,000. Zimmer Partners LP acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $166,263,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in 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, Brookfield Corp ON increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 112.6% in the 3rd quarter. Brookfield Corp ON now owns 1,002,811 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $115,624,000 after buying an additional 531,073 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on DUK shares. 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. Scotiabank increased their target price on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $121.62.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.3 %

NYSE DUK opened at $115.86 on Tuesday. Duke Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $90.09 and a 52 week high of $121.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $110.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $113.03. The firm has a market cap of $89.50 billion, a PE ratio of 20.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.50.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.50% and a net margin of 14.90%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.61%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 73.20%.

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.