290 Shares in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Bought by Sierra Ocean LLC

Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 290 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $31,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC lifted its position in Duke Energy by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC now owns 52,097 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,613,000 after buying an additional 2,705 shares during the last quarter. CCM Investment Advisers LLC lifted its position 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 worth $9,008,000 after purchasing an additional 16,356 shares during the last quarter. Pines Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth $1,032,000. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position 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 worth $31,941,000 after purchasing an additional 9,070 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Corundum Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth $1,566,000. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Duke Energy Price Performance

DUK opened at $110.85 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $109.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $113.00. Duke Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $90.09 and a 1 year high of $121.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $85.63 billion, a PE ratio of 20.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.50.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 14.31%. Research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.77%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 76.84%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. KeyCorp downgraded Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.08.

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.