Whitener Capital Management Inc. Grows Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Whitener Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 44,187 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 430 shares during the period. Duke Energy makes up 1.3% of Whitener Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Whitener Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $4,761,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in 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 buying an additional 243 shares during the period. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Duke Energy by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 334 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on DUK. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Mizuho upgraded shares of Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.23.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.3 %

DUK opened at $109.34 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $110.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $111.81. The company has a market cap of $84.47 billion, a PE ratio of 20.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.49. Duke Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $90.09 and a 1 year high of $121.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.70.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released 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 for 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 quarter last year, the company posted $1.94 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.82%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.