McDonough Capital Management Inc Purchases 443 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

McDonough Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 10.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,562 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 443 shares during the quarter. McDonough Capital Management Inc’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $492,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV now owns 32,346 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,485,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares during the period. First Business Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $384,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $150,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 14,375 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,549,000 after acquiring an additional 643 shares during the period. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 222,639 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $23,987,000 after acquiring an additional 1,355 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank raised their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley dropped 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 report on Friday, November 22nd. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective 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. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.57.

Duke Energy Price Performance

DUK stock opened at $115.26 on Thursday. Duke Energy Co. has a one year low of $92.75 and a one year high of $121.25. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $111.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $113.21. 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 company has a market capitalization of $89.49 billion, a PE ratio of 20.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.