Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 563 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $61,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of DUK. Parkworth Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 1,500.0% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CGC Financial Services LLC raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 366.7% in the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 308 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

NYSE DUK opened at $120.88 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $113.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $113.52. The stock has a market cap of $93.86 billion, a PE ratio of 21.17, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48. Duke Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $92.75 and a fifty-two week high of $121.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.67.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, equities analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.46%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 73.20%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on DUK. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley dropped 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 report on Friday, November 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.93.

Duke Energy 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.