Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC Grows Stock Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 6.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 86,426 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,980 shares during the quarter. Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $9,312,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the third quarter worth $29,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 332.9% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the third quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 334 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on DUK shares. Scotiabank increased 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. KeyCorp cut shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Mizuho raised shares of Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.23.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $112.28 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $86.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.64, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.45. Duke Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $90.09 and a 1 year high of $121.25. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $110.14 and its 200 day moving average is $112.45.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.06 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 9.34%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.94 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.72%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 76.84%.

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.