Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. Raises Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 29.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,983 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,971 shares during the quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,399,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. CGC Financial Services LLC increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 366.7% during 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 last quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 332.9% in 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 last quarter. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DUK opened at $115.01 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $88.85 billion, a PE ratio of 21.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.50. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $109.73 and a 200-day moving average of $112.72. 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 results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.94 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.045 per share. 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 3.63%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 76.84%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DUK has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Mizuho raised shares of Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. KeyCorp downgraded Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley reduced 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. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given 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.