Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC Has $2.84 Million Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 7.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 26,333 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,859 shares during the period. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $2,837,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 334 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 82.7% in the third quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 360 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Mizuho upgraded shares of Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Duke Energy in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $138.00 target price for the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.23.

Duke Energy Trading Down 2.1 %

DUK stock traded down $2.26 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $105.97. The stock had a trading volume of 825,225 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,742,176. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $111.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $111.59. Duke Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $90.09 and a 1-year high of $121.25. The firm has a market cap of $81.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.49.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($0.11). Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 14.31%. The business had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.94 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.94%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 76.84%.

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.