Wiser Advisor Group LLC Decreases Stock Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Wiser Advisor Group LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 6.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,796 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 114 shares during the period. Wiser Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $194,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of DUK. SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,232,000. Flputnam Investment Management Co. raised its stake in Duke Energy by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. now owns 4,707 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $507,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Tower Bridge Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 39.4% during the 4th quarter. Tower Bridge Advisors now owns 12,128 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,307,000 after buying an additional 3,425 shares during the period. Yelin Lapidot Holdings Management Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 68.5% in the 4th quarter. Yelin Lapidot Holdings Management Ltd. now owns 3,153 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $340,000 after buying an additional 1,282 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 9.7% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 15,931 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,716,000 after acquiring an additional 1,408 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on DUK. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Scotiabank raised their target price 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. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $121.62.

Duke Energy Stock Up 1.4 %

NYSE DUK opened at $117.50 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $111.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $113.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. Duke Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $90.09 and a 52 week high of $121.25. The company has a market capitalization of $90.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.50.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its earnings results 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 return on equity of 9.50% and a net margin of 14.90%. On average, equities research analysts predict 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. Investors 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 of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.20%.

Duke Energy Company 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.