Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Stake Lifted by iA Global Asset Management Inc.

iA Global Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 290.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 88,527 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 65,875 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $9,538,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bailard Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 31,921 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,439,000 after acquiring an additional 3,139 shares in the last quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC now owns 52,097 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,613,000 after purchasing an additional 2,705 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 25.7% during the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 35,755 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,852,000 after purchasing an additional 7,319 shares during the last quarter. First Business Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Duke Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $384,000. Finally, Pines Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,032,000. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Scotiabank increased 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. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.93.

Duke Energy Stock Down 1.2 %

DUK stock opened at $119.31 on Thursday. Duke Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $92.75 and a 12-month high of $121.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. The company has a market cap of $92.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.89, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a 50 day moving average of $113.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $113.61.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.90% and a return on equity of 9.50%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.50%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 73.20%.

Duke Energy 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.