Empowered Funds LLC Increases Stock Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 16.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 19,365 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,764 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $2,086,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC grew its position in Duke Energy by 5.5% in 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 during the last quarter. CCM Investment Advisers LLC grew its position 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 valued at $9,008,000 after buying an additional 16,356 shares during the last quarter. Pines Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $1,032,000. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in Duke Energy by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 296,463 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,941,000 after buying an additional 9,070 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Corundum Group Inc. purchased a new position in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $1,566,000. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Duke Energy Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of DUK stock opened at $111.69 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $109.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $112.94. Duke Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $90.09 and a twelve month high of $121.25. The company has a market capitalization of $86.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.53, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.50. 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 9.34%. Research analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Scotiabank raised their target price on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, KeyCorp downgraded Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 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 a consensus 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.