Kingsview Wealth Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Kingsview Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 14.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 43,584 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,615 shares during the quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $4,696,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. PBMares Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 1.8% in the third quarter. PBMares Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,886 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $563,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Castleview Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 4.9% in the third quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 1,944 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $224,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 1.4% in the third quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC now owns 6,591 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $760,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 3.5% in the third quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,730 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $315,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chicago Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 0.9% in the third quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 10,163 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,172,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of DUK opened at $115.01 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $109.73 and a 200-day moving average of $112.72. The company has a market cap of $88.85 billion, a PE ratio of 21.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($0.11). Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 9.34%. 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 previous year, the business posted $1.94 EPS. Duke Energy’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.63%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 76.84%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on DUK. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Mizuho upgraded Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Scotiabank upped their target price on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.08.

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.