Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. Makes New Investment in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. purchased a new stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 3,012 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $325,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,885,939 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,852,731,000 after purchasing an additional 779,054 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Duke Energy by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,488,176 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,016,846,000 after buying an additional 442,302 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Duke Energy by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,562,545 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $922,529,000 after buying an additional 135,665 shares in the last quarter. Amundi raised its stake in Duke Energy by 29.2% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,488,849 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $269,368,000 after buying an additional 561,784 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Groupama Asset Managment purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the third quarter worth about $2,537,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on DUK shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. 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 report on Thursday, December 12th. UBS Group raised their target price on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.87.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DUK opened at $117.67 on Friday. Duke Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $92.75 and a 1 year high of $121.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.67. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $114.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $113.71. The company has a market capitalization of $91.43 billion, a PE ratio of 20.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 EPS 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%. On average, research analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.55%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 73.20%.

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.