Longboard Asset Management LP Makes New Investment in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Longboard Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,101 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $226,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of DUK. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. CGC Financial Services LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 366.7% in the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 308 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Duke Energy by 332.9% during the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 316 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on DUK shares. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Mizuho upgraded shares of Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, KeyCorp lowered Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.08.

Duke Energy Trading Up 1.1 %

DUK stock opened at $113.21 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.45. Duke Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $90.09 and a 1-year high of $121.25. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $110.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $112.57. The company has a market capitalization of $87.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.81, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.50.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.06 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 14.31%. Duke Energy’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.94 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.69%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.