Godsey & Gibb Inc. Raises Stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Godsey & Gibb Inc. increased its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 0.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 202,185 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 343 shares during the quarter. Duke Energy comprises approximately 2.2% of Godsey & Gibb Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Godsey & Gibb Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $21,783,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 15.2% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,816,758 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $182,101,000 after buying an additional 240,136 shares during the last quarter. One Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy during the second quarter worth $426,000. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI raised its position in Duke Energy by 17.7% in the second quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 8,287 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $831,000 after purchasing an additional 1,247 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,147,000. Finally, Axxcess Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 8.1% during the 2nd quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 29,510 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,958,000 after purchasing an additional 2,223 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Barclays raised their price target on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Duke Energy in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $138.00 target price for the company. Finally, Mizuho raised shares of Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. 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.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.23.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of DUK opened at $106.39 on Thursday. 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 firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $110.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $111.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.56, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.49. Duke Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $90.09 and a twelve month high of $121.25.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.06 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.94 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.93%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 76.84%.

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.