New Republic Capital LLC Grows Stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

New Republic Capital LLC raised its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 3.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 3,693 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the quarter. New Republic Capital LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $398,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas now owns 17,796 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,917,000 after purchasing an additional 1,619 shares during the last quarter. Wealthcare Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $296,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth $69,000. Summit Trail Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 65.5% in the fourth quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 13,787 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,485,000 after acquiring an additional 5,458 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principle Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 16.4% during the fourth quarter. Principle Wealth Partners LLC now owns 41,812 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,505,000 after acquiring an additional 5,898 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of DUK stock opened at $115.50 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.23, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.50. Duke Energy Co. has a one year low of $90.09 and a one year high of $121.25. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $109.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $112.79.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 76.84%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on DUK shares. Mizuho raised shares of Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. KeyCorp lowered Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of 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 given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus 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.