Constitution Capital LLC Has $3.37 Million Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Constitution Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 12.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,254 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,580 shares during the period. Duke Energy makes up about 1.9% of Constitution Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Constitution Capital LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $3,367,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of DUK. Certified Advisory Corp increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Certified Advisory Corp now owns 19,329 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,083,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its stake in Duke Energy by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 7,208 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $777,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the period. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC lifted its position in Duke Energy by 28.0% in the 4th quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 5,739 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $618,000 after buying an additional 1,256 shares in the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 29,389 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,166,000 after buying an additional 2,769 shares during the period. Finally, Winch Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 332.9% during the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 316 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Duke Energy Trading Up 2.4 %

Duke Energy stock opened at $109.05 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $110.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $111.83. Duke Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $90.09 and a 52 week high of $121.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.24 billion, a PE ratio of 20.05, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.70.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($0.11). Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 14.31%. The business had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.94 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.84%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Barclays increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Mizuho upgraded shares of Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $116.00 to $121.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, KeyCorp cut shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.23.

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.