Analyst IMS Investment Management Services Ltd. Grows Stock Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Analyst IMS Investment Management Services Ltd. increased its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 22.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,367 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 441 shares during the period. Analyst IMS Investment Management Services Ltd.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $255,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of DUK. Parkworth Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CGC Financial Services LLC increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 366.7% during the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 308 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Duke Energy Stock Up 1.4 %

Duke Energy stock opened at $118.25 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $91.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.71, 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 $121.25. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $112.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $113.40. 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 quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.53%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.20%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on DUK. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.