Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Purchased by CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp

CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp grew its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 3.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 75,187 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,601 shares during the quarter. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $8,101,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy during the third quarter worth $30,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 334 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the period. Finally, Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 82.7% during the 3rd quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 360 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Scotiabank raised their target price 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. KeyCorp cut Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.23.

Duke Energy Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE DUK opened at $106.39 on Thursday. Duke Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $90.09 and a 12-month high of $121.25. The stock has a market cap of $82.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.56, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $110.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $111.87.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by ($0.11). Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 14.31%. The company had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.94 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.84%.

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.