Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. Has $4.29 Million Stock Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. boosted its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 9.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 39,785 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,312 shares during the period. Richard C. Young & CO. LTD.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $4,286,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy during the third quarter worth $29,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. CGC Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 366.7% in the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 308 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares during the period. Winch Advisory Services LLC boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy during the third quarter worth approximately $38,000. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on DUK shares. Morgan Stanley reduced 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 research report on Friday, November 22nd. KeyCorp cut shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Mizuho raised 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 research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.08.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

NYSE 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 company has a fifty day moving average price of $109.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $112.72. Duke Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $90.09 and a 1 year high of $121.25. The firm has a market cap of $88.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.14, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.50.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its 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). The firm had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.06 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 14.31%. Duke Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.94 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.63%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.