Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Bought by Lazari Capital Management Inc.

Lazari Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 4.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,530 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the quarter. Lazari Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $273,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. CGC Financial Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 366.7% in the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 308 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares during the period. Winch Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 243 shares during the period. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on DUK shares. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock 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 upped their price objective for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. KeyCorp lowered Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.23.

Duke Energy Stock Down 0.1 %

DUK stock opened at $112.14 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $110.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $112.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.70. The firm has a market cap of $86.62 billion, a PE ratio of 20.61, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.50. Duke Energy Co. has a one year low of $90.09 and a one year high of $121.25.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.94 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.91 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.73%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is presently 76.84%.

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.