Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Bought by Vest Financial LLC

Vest Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 42.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,907 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,250 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,175,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy in the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. CGC Financial Services LLC increased its stake in Duke Energy by 366.7% during the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 308 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 332.9% in the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 316 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DUK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Mizuho upgraded Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. KeyCorp downgraded Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, 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 report on Friday, November 22nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.08.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $115.01 on Friday. Duke Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $90.09 and a 52-week high of $121.25. The company has a 50 day moving average of $109.73 and a 200 day moving average of $112.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The company has a market capitalization of $88.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.50.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.06 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 9.34%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.94 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 76.84%.

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.