Rahlfs Capital LLC Takes Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Rahlfs Capital LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 15,446 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,664,000. Duke Energy comprises 1.6% of Rahlfs Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Groupama Asset Managment purchased a new stake in Duke Energy during the third quarter valued at $2,537,000. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 4th quarter worth $163,819,000. Zimmer Partners LP bought a new stake in Duke Energy during the third quarter valued at about $166,263,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 155.1% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,873,321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $201,832,000 after buying an additional 1,138,979 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Wealth Planning LLC lifted its holdings 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 valued at $222,520,000 after purchasing an additional 1,111,581 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on DUK. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Scotiabank boosted 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. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. 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 report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.87.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of DUK stock opened at $118.91 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $92.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.39. Duke Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $92.75 and a 12-month high of $125.27. The business’s 50 day moving average is $116.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $113.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52.

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 return on equity of 9.50% and a net margin of 14.90%. Analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.52%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is currently 73.20%.

Duke Energy 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.