Nwam LLC Buys 188 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Nwam LLC boosted its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 3.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 5,270 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 188 shares during the period. Nwam LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $568,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. Diversify Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Duke Energy by 11.7% in the third quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,079 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $369,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares during the period. Diversify Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Duke Energy by 5.0% in the third quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,958 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $598,000 after acquiring an additional 234 shares during the period. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Duke Energy by 3,922.2% in the third quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,068 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $584,000 after acquiring an additional 4,942 shares during the period. United Asset Strategies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 27.4% in the third quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 2,839 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $327,000 after purchasing an additional 611 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the third quarter worth about $38,000. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank lifted 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 note on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced 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 note on Friday, November 22nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $121.62.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DUK opened at $117.50 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $111.03 and a 200 day moving average of $113.13. The stock has a market cap of $90.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.50. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $90.09 and a 12 month 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.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.56%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is presently 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.