CFO4Life Group LLC Grows Stock Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

CFO4Life Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 4.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,903 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the quarter. CFO4Life Group LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $421,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Groupama Asset Managment acquired a new stake in Duke Energy during the third quarter worth about $2,537,000. Zimmer Partners LP acquired a new stake in Duke Energy during the third quarter worth about $166,263,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Duke Energy by 155.1% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,873,321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $201,832,000 after acquiring an additional 1,138,979 shares during the last quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC increased its stake in Duke Energy by 116.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 2,065,344 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $222,520,000 after acquiring an additional 1,111,581 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi increased its stake in Duke Energy by 29.2% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,488,849 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $269,368,000 after acquiring an additional 561,784 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DUK opened at $116.69 on Thursday. Duke Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $92.75 and a fifty-two week high of $121.25. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $112.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $113.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. The firm has a market cap of $90.61 billion, a PE ratio of 20.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.50% and a net margin of 14.90%. Sell-side analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 73.20%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Scotiabank upped their price target on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Guggenheim increased their target price on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.93.

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.