Crestwood Advisors Group LLC Increases Stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Crestwood Advisors Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 5.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 5,379 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 281 shares during the quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $580,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 2,705 shares during the last quarter. Pines Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,032,000. CCM Investment Advisers LLC boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 16,356 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 296,463 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,941,000 after acquiring an additional 9,070 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Corundum Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,566,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Price Performance

NYSE DUK opened at $117.29 on Wednesday. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $90.09 and a 12 month high of $121.25. The stock has a market cap of $90.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.54, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.50. The company’s 50 day moving average is $110.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $113.06. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. As a group, research 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 73.20%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DUK has been the topic of several recent research reports. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Morgan Stanley lowered 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 research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $121.62.

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.