Vanguard Group Inc. Raises Stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 72,885,939 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 779,054 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 0.09% of Duke Energy worth $7,852,731,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Blueprint Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 10.8% during the fourth quarter. Blueprint Investment Partners LLC now owns 4,416 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $476,000 after purchasing an additional 429 shares during the period. Guardian Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $13,533,000. Fox Run Management L.L.C. boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 83.9% during the fourth quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. now owns 17,910 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,930,000 after purchasing an additional 8,171 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $504,000. Finally, Mindset Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. Mindset Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $248,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DUK opened at $119.01 on Monday. Duke Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $92.75 and a 1-year high of $121.47. 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $114.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $113.65. The company has a market capitalization of $92.47 billion, a PE ratio of 20.84, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share 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%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.51%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is presently 73.20%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. UBS Group upped their target price on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.87.

Duke Energy Company 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.