Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 2,331 Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,331 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $251,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of DUK. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $524,000. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 77,656 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,367,000 after purchasing an additional 3,136 shares during the period. OLD National Bancorp IN lifted its position in Duke Energy by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 10,650 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,147,000 after buying an additional 324 shares in the last quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Duke Energy by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,862 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $308,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Planning Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Planning Group LLC now owns 37,793 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,072,000 after buying an additional 1,530 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DUK opened at $111.85 on Thursday. 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 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The company has a market cap of $86.40 billion, a PE ratio of 20.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.49. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $110.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $112.46.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.94 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.92 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 76.84%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on DUK. Mizuho upgraded Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Scotiabank boosted 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 note on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, KeyCorp downgraded shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.