Intact Investment Management Inc. Buys 67,570 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Intact Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 136.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 117,100 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 67,570 shares during the quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $12,616,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. United Bank boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 2.7% in the third quarter. United Bank now owns 4,764 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $549,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 31.0% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 410 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV lifted its position in Duke Energy by 38.2% during the third quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 5,796 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $668,000 after purchasing an additional 1,602 shares during the period. Savvy Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Duke Energy during the third quarter worth about $259,000. Finally, Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Duke Energy by 12.4% during the third quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 33,163 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,824,000 after purchasing an additional 3,659 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on DUK shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective 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. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Guggenheim upped their price objective 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on 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. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.93.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Duke Energy stock opened at $118.25 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $112.61 and a 200-day moving average of $113.40. Duke Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $92.75 and a 1 year high of $121.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The company has a market capitalization of $91.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.50% and a net margin of 14.90%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

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 $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. 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.