Amundi Grows Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Amundi increased its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 29.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,488,849 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 561,784 shares during the period. Amundi’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $269,368,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bailard Inc. increased its stake in Duke Energy by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 31,921 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,439,000 after buying an additional 3,139 shares during the period. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC increased its stake in Duke Energy by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC now owns 52,097 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,613,000 after buying an additional 2,705 shares during the period. Pines Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $1,032,000. CCM Investment Advisers LLC increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 24.3% in the 4th quarter. CCM Investment Advisers LLC now owns 83,610 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,008,000 after purchasing an additional 16,356 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 296,463 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,941,000 after purchasing an additional 9,070 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on DUK shares. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of 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 dropped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.57.

Duke Energy Trading Up 1.7 %

Duke Energy stock opened at $116.78 on Friday. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $111.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $113.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.45, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48. Duke Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $92.75 and a 52-week high of $121.25.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.90% and a return on equity of 9.50%. Sell-side analysts expect 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 paid a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 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.