Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Increases Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 183,939 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,484 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $19,818,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 11,471.4% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 6,777,973 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $781,500,000 after buying an additional 6,719,398 shares during the period. Groupama Asset Managment purchased a new stake in Duke Energy during the third quarter worth $2,537,000. Zimmer Partners LP purchased a new stake in Duke Energy during the third quarter worth $166,263,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 155.1% during the fourth 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 lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 112.6% during the third 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

NYSE DUK opened at $116.34 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $110.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $113.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $89.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.37, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.50. 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.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.20%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on DUK shares. Scotiabank upped their price target on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on 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 increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $121.62.

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.