Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Purchased by Simmons Bank

Simmons Bank grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 3.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 33,761 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,268 shares during the quarter. Simmons Bank’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $3,637,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Armstrong Fleming & Moore Inc grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 9.2% during the fourth quarter. Armstrong Fleming & Moore Inc now owns 2,062 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $222,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,866,763 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $201,125,000 after acquiring an additional 86,378 shares during the last quarter. Advisor OS LLC lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 11.1% in the fourth quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 13,017 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,402,000 after acquiring an additional 1,299 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,640 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $500,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Delta Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Delta Financial Advisors LLC now owns 10,004 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,078,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DUK has been the topic of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. BMO Capital Markets boosted 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 cut their target price 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. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Duke Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $121.62.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

NYSE DUK opened at $116.34 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $89.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.37, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.50. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $110.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $113.08. Duke Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $90.09 and a twelve month high of $121.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.90% and a return on equity of 9.50%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share 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. Investors 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 yield of 3.59%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is currently 73.20%.

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.