Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Bought by Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 94,713 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 636 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $10,204,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 183,939 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $19,818,000 after purchasing an additional 1,484 shares in the last quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 9,030 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $973,000 after buying an additional 631 shares during the last quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 303,600 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,710,000 after purchasing an additional 4,100 shares during the period. New York Life Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 103,568 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $11,158,000 after buying an additional 1,006 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schnieders Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC now owns 32,623 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,515,000 after purchasing an additional 339 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Duke Energy Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE DUK opened at $116.03 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $89.63 billion, a PE ratio of 20.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.50. Duke Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $90.09 and a 1-year high of $121.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $110.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $113.10.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.50% and a net margin of 14.90%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share 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 given a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 73.20%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on DUK shares. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Scotiabank raised their price objective 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 upped their target price on Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $121.62.

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.