LifePlan Financial LLC Raises Stock Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

LifePlan Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 28.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,977 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,748 shares during the period. LifePlan Financial LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $859,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of DUK. Transform Wealth LLC raised its position in Duke Energy by 49.3% during the fourth quarter. Transform Wealth LLC now owns 5,768 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $621,000 after acquiring an additional 1,904 shares in the last quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,195 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $883,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Trust Co lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 64.9% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Trust Co now owns 3,007 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $324,000 after purchasing an additional 1,183 shares during the period. Royal Fund Management LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Royal Fund Management LLC now owns 32,782 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,578,000 after buying an additional 593 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 9,195 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $991,000 after buying an additional 405 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:DUK opened at $109.34 on Tuesday. Duke Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $90.09 and a 52-week high of $121.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The business has a fifty day moving average of $110.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $112.12. The stock has a market cap of $84.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.10, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.49.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($0.11). Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 14.31%. The firm had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.94 earnings per share. Duke Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued 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 3.82%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 76.84%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DUK has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. KeyCorp cut Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Mizuho upgraded Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company 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 issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.23.

Duke Energy Company 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.