Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Bought by Kovack Advisors Inc.

Kovack Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 7.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,030 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 631 shares during the quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $973,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of DUK. abrdn plc grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 23.2% during the 3rd quarter. abrdn plc now owns 257,492 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,707,000 after purchasing an additional 48,514 shares during the period. Diversify Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 11.7% during the third quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,079 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $369,000 after buying an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Equity Partners increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 24.8% in the third quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 4,599 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $530,000 after buying an additional 915 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,958 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $598,000 after acquiring an additional 234 shares during the period. Finally, JFS Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 3,922.2% during the 3rd quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,068 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $584,000 after acquiring an additional 4,942 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Duke Energy Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE DUK opened at $116.03 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $110.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $113.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market cap of $89.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.50. Duke Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $90.09 and a 1 year high of $121.25.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.50% and a net margin of 14.90%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.60%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 73.20%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $121.62.

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.