World Investment Advisors Has $2.12 Million Stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

World Investment Advisors increased its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 121.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 19,713 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,816 shares during the quarter. World Investment Advisors’ holdings in Duke Energy were worth $2,124,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. SevenBridge Financial Group LLC raised its position in Duke Energy by 51.8% in the 4th quarter. SevenBridge Financial Group LLC now owns 22,883 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,670,000 after buying an additional 7,805 shares during the last quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 25.5% in the fourth quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC now owns 7,718 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $832,000 after purchasing an additional 1,566 shares during the last quarter. Cinctive Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 178.3% in the fourth quarter. Cinctive Capital Management LP now owns 319,628 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,437,000 after purchasing an additional 204,764 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 18,097,796 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,949,857,000 after purchasing an additional 124,863 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RFG Bristol Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $313,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DUK has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Scotiabank raised their price target on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped 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 report on Thursday, March 20th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $123.87.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

DUK opened at $118.91 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $116.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $113.88. Duke Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $92.75 and a 1 year high of $125.27. The company has a market capitalization of $92.40 billion, a PE ratio of 20.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.39.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly 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%. Research analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.52%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.20%.

Duke Energy Company 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.