Lynch & Associates IN Has $3.38 Million Stock Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Lynch & Associates IN lowered its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 31,370 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 222 shares during the period. Lynch & Associates IN’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $3,380,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. PBMares Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. PBMares Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,886 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $563,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Castleview Partners LLC boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 1,944 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $224,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Duke Energy by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC now owns 6,591 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $760,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Duke Energy by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,730 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $315,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chicago Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 0.9% in the third quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 10,163 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,172,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on DUK shares. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Mizuho upgraded shares of Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on 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. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $138.00 price target on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.23.

Duke Energy Stock Down 2.1 %

Shares of DUK stock traded down $2.30 on Friday, reaching $105.93. 2,998,097 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,114,850. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. Duke Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $90.09 and a twelve month high of $121.25. The company has a market capitalization of $81.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.47, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.49. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $111.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $111.59.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($0.11). Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 14.31%. The company had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.94 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders 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 3.95%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.84%.

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.