Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Bought by Schnieders Capital Management LLC

Schnieders Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 32,623 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 339 shares during the period. Schnieders Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $3,515,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 5.5% in the fourth 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. Pines Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,032,000. CCM Investment Advisers LLC raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 24.3% in the fourth 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. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position 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 valued at $31,941,000 after buying an additional 9,070 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Corundum Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,566,000. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Duke Energy Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of DUK stock opened at $116.34 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The firm has a market cap of $89.87 billion, a PE ratio of 20.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a 50-day moving average of $110.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $113.08. Duke Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $90.09 and a 1-year high of $121.25.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.90% and a return on equity of 9.50%. On average, analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.59%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 73.20%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Scotiabank upped 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $121.62.

Duke Energy Company 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.