Sentry Investment Management LLC Purchases Shares of 2,946 Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 2,946 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $317,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in DUK. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. CGC Financial Services LLC grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 366.7% in the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 308 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Duke Energy by 332.9% during the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 316 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on DUK shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Six investment 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 company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $121.62.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

DUK stock opened at $117.29 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $110.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $113.06. 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 $90.61 billion, a PE ratio of 20.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.50.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share 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 issued a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is presently 73.20%.

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.