Grant Private Wealth Management Inc Buys Shares of 2,547 Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Grant Private Wealth Management Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 2,547 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $274,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. United Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 4,764 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $549,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 173,616.7% in the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 41,692 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,807,000 after purchasing an additional 41,668 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its stake in Duke Energy by 14.7% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 581,498 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $66,999,000 after buying an additional 74,689 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 96,936 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $11,173,000 after buying an additional 1,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter worth $32,379,000. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Duke Energy Stock Down 0.5 %

NYSE DUK opened at $120.44 on Thursday. 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 Co. has a 12 month low of $92.75 and a 12 month high of $122.50. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $115.86 and its 200 day moving average is $113.80. The stock has a market cap of $93.58 billion, a PE ratio of 21.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48.

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

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.47%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 73.20%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DUK has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Guggenheim boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $123.87.

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.