Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Bought by Benedict Financial Advisors Inc.

Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 47,730 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,229 shares during the period. Duke Energy comprises approximately 1.2% of Benedict Financial Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Benedict Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $5,142,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 43,594 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,026,000 after acquiring an additional 1,342 shares during the last quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter worth about $200,000. LongView Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 45.8% in the third quarter. LongView Wealth Management now owns 12,639 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,457,000 after acquiring an additional 3,972 shares in the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Duke Energy by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 19,406 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,237,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Asio Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the third quarter valued at $3,329,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of DUK stock opened at $115.01 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $109.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $112.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $90.09 and a 12 month high of $121.25. The company has a market cap of $88.85 billion, a PE ratio of 21.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.50.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.06 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 14.31%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.94 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.91 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.63%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 76.84%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on DUK shares. Mizuho raised Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. KeyCorp lowered Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price 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. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.08.

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.