Essex Savings Bank Has $838,000 Stock Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Essex Savings Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 6.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,782 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 438 shares during the quarter. Essex Savings Bank’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $838,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 11,471.4% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 6,777,973 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $781,500,000 after buying an additional 6,719,398 shares in the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment acquired a new stake in Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,537,000. Zimmer Partners LP bought a new stake in Duke Energy during the third quarter worth approximately $166,263,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 155.1% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,873,321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $201,832,000 after purchasing an additional 1,138,979 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 13,829.1% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,125,607 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $129,782,000 after purchasing an additional 1,117,526 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

NYSE DUK opened at $106.39 on Thursday. Duke Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $90.09 and a 1-year high of $121.25. The company has a 50 day moving average of $110.73 and a 200-day moving average of $111.87. 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 market cap of $82.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.56, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.49.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly 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 analyst estimates of $8.06 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 9.34%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.94 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.93%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 76.84%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Duke Energy in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $138.00 price objective on the stock. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley cut 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. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Scotiabank upped 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 report on Thursday, December 12th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Duke Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.23.

Duke Energy 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.