Headlands Technologies LLC Increases Stock Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Headlands Technologies LLC lifted its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 69.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,159 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,557 shares during the quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,202,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its stake in Duke Energy by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 31,353 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,378,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Duke Energy by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,456 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $372,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Intergy Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Intergy Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,113 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $228,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 7,233 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $779,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Missouri Trust & Investment Co raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. Missouri Trust & Investment Co now owns 1,071 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $115,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group increased their price target on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. 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 report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $123.87.

Duke Energy Trading Down 0.7 %

DUK opened at $121.08 on Wednesday. Duke Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $92.75 and a 52 week high of $122.50. The company has a market capitalization of $94.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.20, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $115.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $113.75. 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 (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.45%. 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.