5,164 Shares in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Bought by YANKCOM Partnership

YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 5,164 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $556,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC now owns 52,097 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,613,000 after buying an additional 2,705 shares in the last quarter. CCM Investment Advisers LLC boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 24.3% in the 4th quarter. CCM Investment Advisers LLC now owns 83,610 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,008,000 after purchasing an additional 16,356 shares during the period. Pines Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,032,000. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 296,463 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,941,000 after buying an additional 9,070 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Corundum Group Inc. purchased a new position in Duke Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $1,566,000. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Duke Energy Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of DUK opened at $113.88 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.50. Duke Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $90.09 and a 12-month high of $121.25. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $109.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $112.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.06 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 9.34%. The business’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.94 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.67%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 76.84%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. KeyCorp cut shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Mizuho raised shares of Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $116.00 to $121.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on 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. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.08.

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.