Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Stock Position Lifted by Park Avenue Securities LLC

Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 48.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 62,259 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 20,442 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $6,708,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 155.1% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,873,321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $201,832,000 after buying an additional 1,138,979 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 33.6% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 13,131 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,415,000 after acquiring an additional 3,305 shares during the last quarter. Pines Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,032,000. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,975 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $644,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. Finally, Fiduciary Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $291,000. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DUK opened at $106.39 on Thursday. Duke Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $90.09 and a twelve month high of $121.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $110.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $111.87. The company has a market capitalization of $82.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.56, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.49.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.06 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 14.31%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.94 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.95 earnings per share 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.93%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 76.84%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on DUK. Mizuho raised Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Morgan Stanley decreased 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. KeyCorp cut Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy presently has an average 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.