Davis R M Inc. Acquires 971 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Davis R M Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 25.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 4,786 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 971 shares during the period. Davis R M Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $516,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of DUK. United Bank increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 2.7% in the third quarter. United Bank now owns 4,764 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $549,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 31.0% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 410 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $237,000. Tyler Stone Wealth Management raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 83.2% during the 3rd quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management now owns 2,588 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $298,000 after purchasing an additional 1,175 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 23.8% in the 3rd quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 4,505 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $519,000 after purchasing an additional 865 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of DUK opened at $117.76 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $91.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48. The business’s fifty day moving average is $112.22 and its 200 day moving average is $113.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. Duke Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $92.75 and a 12-month high of $121.25.

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

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 73.20%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DUK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on 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. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.93.

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.