Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Bought by Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC

Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC grew its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 3.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,813 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 610 shares during the quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $2,242,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy during the third quarter valued at $30,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 332.9% in the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 316 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the third quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 334 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on DUK shares. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on 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 shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Mizuho raised shares of Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Scotiabank raised their price target 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, Barclays boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.23.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DUK opened at $109.86 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.45. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $90.09 and a 12 month high of $121.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.49. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $110.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $112.29.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.06 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 9.34%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.94 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.80%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 76.84%.

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.