Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 153,264 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,941 shares during the quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $16,513,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Groupama Asset Managment bought a new position in Duke Energy in the third quarter worth approximately $2,537,000. Zimmer Partners LP acquired a new position in Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $166,263,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 155.1% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,873,321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $201,832,000 after purchasing an additional 1,138,979 shares during the last quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 116.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 2,065,344 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $222,520,000 after acquiring an additional 1,111,581 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Duke Energy by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,885,939 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,852,731,000 after purchasing an additional 779,054 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

DUK stock opened at $117.67 on Friday. Duke Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $92.75 and a 52 week high of $121.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.67. The stock has a market cap of $91.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $114.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $113.71.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.50% and a net margin of 14.90%. Research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.55%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 73.20%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.87.

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.