HighPoint Advisor Group LLC Grows Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

HighPoint Advisor Group LLC lifted its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 5.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,278 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,379 shares during the period. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $3,049,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Family Legacy Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Family Legacy Inc. now owns 49,774 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,387,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. Cannell & Spears LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $385,000. Summit Financial LLC boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 98.1% during the fourth quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 16,072 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,732,000 after buying an additional 7,957 shares during the last quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. purchased a new stake in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,676 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $288,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during 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 $122.07 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $115.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $113.73. 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 1-year low of $92.75 and a 1-year high of $122.50. The company has a market cap of $94.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 9.50% and a net margin of 14.90%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is presently 73.20%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on DUK shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Guggenheim raised their target price on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $123.87.

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.