Lee Danner & Bass Inc. Increases Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Lee Danner & Bass Inc. grew its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,237 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 309 shares during the period. Lee Danner & Bass Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $2,504,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Parkworth Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the third quarter worth about $29,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted 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 worth $31,000 after buying an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CGC Financial Services LLC lifted 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 worth $33,000 after buying an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on DUK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Scotiabank upped their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Guggenheim upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $123.64.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.7 %

DUK opened at $120.17 on Friday. Duke Energy Co. has a one year low of $92.75 and a one year high of $121.47. The stock has a market cap of $93.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $113.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $113.65. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.50% and a net margin of 14.90%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company 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 of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.48%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.20%.

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.