Eastern Bank Grows Stock Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Eastern Bank increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 12.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,947 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 666 shares during the quarter. Eastern Bank’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $641,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. PBMares Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 1.8% during the third quarter. PBMares Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,886 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $563,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Castleview Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 1,944 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $224,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC now owns 6,591 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $760,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,730 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $315,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chicago Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 10,163 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,172,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.4 %

DUK stock opened at $106.29 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $82.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.54, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.70. Duke Energy Co. has a one year low of $90.09 and a one year high of $121.25. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $110.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $111.83.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 9.34%. The company had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.94 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.95 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.93%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 76.84%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DUK has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $138.00 price target for the company. Finally, Mizuho upgraded shares of Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.23.

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.