Hardin Capital Partners LLC Purchases 1,535 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Hardin Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 7.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,956 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,535 shares during the period. Duke Energy comprises about 1.4% of Hardin Capital Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 7th largest position. Hardin Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $2,258,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. United Bank boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 2.7% during the third quarter. United Bank now owns 4,764 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $549,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 32.7% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 3,110 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $359,000 after acquiring an additional 766 shares during the last quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 9.5% during the 3rd quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 8,329 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $960,000 after purchasing an additional 723 shares during the period. Truvestments Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 14.7% during the third quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 2,683 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $309,000 after purchasing an additional 344 shares during the last quarter. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its stake in Duke Energy by 1.2% in the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 218,570 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,201,000 after purchasing an additional 2,550 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DUK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $123.87.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of DUK stock opened at $116.10 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $114.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $113.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $92.75 and a 12 month high of $121.47.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.50% and a net margin of 14.90%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.60%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 73.20%.

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.