Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Bought by United Bank

United Bank increased its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 23.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 5,861 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,097 shares during the quarter. United Bank’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $631,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CreativeOne Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 55.9% during the third quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 9,739 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,123,000 after acquiring an additional 3,492 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 402,248 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $46,379,000 after buying an additional 6,527 shares in the last quarter. L.M. Kohn & Company boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 11.0% during the third quarter. L.M. Kohn & Company now owns 6,868 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $792,000 after buying an additional 678 shares in the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 125.9% during the third quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 48,384 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,579,000 after acquiring an additional 26,965 shares during the period. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $50,000. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of DUK opened at $119.42 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $92.79 billion, a PE ratio of 20.91, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48. Duke Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $92.75 and a twelve month high of $121.47. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $115.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $113.70.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its 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, research analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.50%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 73.20%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on DUK shares. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Guggenheim increased their price target on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.