YANKCOM Partnership Takes Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 5,164 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $556,000.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of DUK. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC lifted its position in Duke Energy by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC now owns 52,097 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,613,000 after purchasing an additional 2,705 shares during the last quarter. CCM Investment Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 24.3% during the fourth 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 period. Pines Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $1,032,000. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in Duke Energy by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 296,463 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,941,000 after purchasing an additional 9,070 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Corundum Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,566,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DUK has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Scotiabank upped their target price on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. KeyCorp cut shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Mizuho raised Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Duke Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.08.

Duke Energy Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $113.88 on Thursday. Duke Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $90.09 and a 52-week high of $121.25. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $109.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $112.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $87.97 billion, a PE ratio of 20.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.50.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $8.16 billion during 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%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.94 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.91 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 76.84%.

Duke Energy 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.