Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. Grows Stock Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 143.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 888,309 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 523,251 shares during the period. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $95,706,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. United Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 2.7% during the third quarter. United Bank now owns 4,764 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $549,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the period. Cadence Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 4.5% in the third quarter. Cadence Bank now owns 8,688 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,002,000 after acquiring an additional 371 shares during the period. CreativeOne Wealth LLC raised its position in Duke Energy by 55.9% in the third quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 9,739 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,123,000 after acquiring an additional 3,492 shares in the last quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 37,745 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,352,000 after buying an additional 293 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in Duke Energy by 3.0% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 134,802 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $15,543,000 after purchasing an additional 3,900 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.5 %

Duke Energy stock opened at $117.67 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.43 billion, a PE ratio of 20.61, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48. Duke Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $92.75 and a 52 week high of $121.47. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $114.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $113.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.67.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.90% and a return on equity of 9.50%. Equities research analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Guggenheim upped their target price on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.87.

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.