Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Acquired by Alberta Investment Management Corp

Alberta Investment Management Corp raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 5.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 45,600 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,300 shares during the quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $4,913,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in DUK. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 27.4% in the 3rd quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 17,002 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,960,000 after purchasing an additional 3,656 shares during the last quarter. Calton & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $277,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 19.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 28,436 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,279,000 after purchasing an additional 4,728 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $609,000. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DUK has been the subject of several research reports. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley reduced 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.08.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of DUK stock opened at $111.78 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $86.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.50. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $109.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $112.97. Duke Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $90.09 and a 12-month high of $121.25. 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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, equities analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend 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.