Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Stock Holdings Increased by WealthPlan Investment Management LLC

WealthPlan Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 62.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,110 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,959 shares during the quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $551,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC now owns 52,097 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,613,000 after acquiring an additional 2,705 shares during the period. CCM Investment Advisers LLC raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 24.3% during the fourth quarter. CCM Investment Advisers LLC now owns 83,610 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,008,000 after acquiring an additional 16,356 shares during the period. Pines Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,032,000. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 296,463 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,941,000 after acquiring an additional 9,070 shares during the period. Finally, Corundum Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,566,000. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of 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. Scotiabank boosted 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted 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, February 3rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.08.

Duke Energy Price Performance

NYSE DUK opened at $111.69 on Friday. 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 company has a fifty day simple moving average of $109.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $112.96. The company has a market cap of $86.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.50. Duke Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $90.09 and a 1 year high of $121.25.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.91 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

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

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.