Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Acquired by EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC

EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 7.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,852 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 946 shares during the quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,385,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of DUK. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. CGC Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 366.7% during the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 308 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 242 shares during the period. Winch Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 332.9% during the fourth 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 period. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DUK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reduced 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 research note on Friday, November 22nd. Guggenheim raised 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, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised 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. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.93.

Duke Energy Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of DUK stock opened at $116.69 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $90.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. Duke Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $92.75 and a fifty-two week high of $121.25. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $112.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $113.36.

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

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.58%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 73.20%.

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.