C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors Boosts Stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors lifted its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 8.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,541 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 416 shares during the period. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors’ holdings in Duke Energy were worth $597,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of DUK. Bfsg LLC boosted its position in Duke Energy by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 11,549 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,244,000 after purchasing an additional 1,032 shares during the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 22.8% during the 4th quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,164 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $341,000 after purchasing an additional 587 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 1,937 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $209,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. grew its position in Duke Energy by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 101,582 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,945,000 after buying an additional 11,154 shares during the period. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 229,516 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $24,728,000 after buying an additional 10,946 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on DUK shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price target on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.08.

Duke Energy Price Performance

DUK stock opened at $111.78 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $109.88 and a 200-day moving average of $112.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.50. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $90.09 and a 12 month high of $121.25.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 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.