Bestgate Wealth Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 3,221 Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Bestgate Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 3,221 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $347,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy during the 4th quarter worth $388,000. Fox Hill Wealth Management raised its stake in Duke Energy by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Fox Hill Wealth Management now owns 26,125 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,815,000 after buying an additional 1,314 shares during the period. Compass Ion Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy during the 4th quarter worth $208,000. Xponance Inc. raised its stake in Duke Energy by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 110,162 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $11,869,000 after buying an additional 4,278 shares during the period. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC raised its stake in Duke Energy by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 14,542 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,567,000 after buying an additional 386 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DUK opened at $120.85 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $93.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.17, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48. The business has a 50-day moving average of $113.44 and a 200-day moving average of $113.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.44. Duke Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $92.75 and a fifty-two week high of $121.47.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is currently 73.20%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective 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. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.93.

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.