Greenwood Capital Associates LLC Raises Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Greenwood Capital Associates LLC lifted its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 5.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,087 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,480 shares during the period. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $3,349,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of DUK. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC now owns 52,097 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,613,000 after purchasing an additional 2,705 shares during the period. CCM Investment Advisers LLC increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 24.3% during the 4th quarter. CCM Investment Advisers LLC now owns 83,610 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,008,000 after purchasing an additional 16,356 shares during the period. Pines Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,032,000. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 296,463 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,941,000 after acquiring an additional 9,070 shares during the period. Finally, Corundum Group Inc. purchased a new position in Duke Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $1,566,000. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $111.80 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.70. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $110.03 and its 200 day moving average is $112.57. The stock has a market cap of $86.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.50. Duke Energy Co. has a one year low of $90.09 and a one year high of $121.25.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by ($0.11). Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 9.34%. The company had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.94 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.74%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is presently 76.84%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on DUK. KeyCorp lowered Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Mizuho upgraded shares of Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.08.

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.