Sierra Summit Advisors LLC Has $535,000 Stock Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Sierra Summit Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 32.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,969 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,204 shares during the quarter. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $535,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bcwm LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $9,815,000. Bailard Inc. grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 31,921 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,439,000 after buying an additional 3,139 shares during the last quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC now owns 52,097 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,613,000 after buying an additional 2,705 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 25.7% in the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 35,755 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,852,000 after acquiring an additional 7,319 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Business Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $384,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on DUK shares. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, 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 report on Tuesday, March 11th. Seven 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 currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.87.

Duke Energy Trading Down 4.1 %

NYSE DUK opened at $118.91 on Monday. Duke Energy Co. has a one year low of $92.75 and a one year high of $125.27. 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 50 day simple moving average of $116.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $113.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $92.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.39.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.90% and a return on equity of 9.50%. Research analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.52%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 73.20%.

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.