Hoey Investments Inc. Invests $36,000 in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Hoey Investments Inc. acquired a new position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 330 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $36,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Groupama Asset Managment purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the third quarter worth about $2,537,000. Zimmer Partners LP acquired a new stake in Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $166,263,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Duke Energy by 155.1% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,873,321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $201,832,000 after purchasing an additional 1,138,979 shares in the last quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 116.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 2,065,344 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $222,520,000 after buying an additional 1,111,581 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,885,939 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,852,731,000 after buying an additional 779,054 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on DUK. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $123.87.

Duke Energy Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of DUK opened at $122.07 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $94.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.38, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $92.75 and a 12 month high of $122.50. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $115.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $113.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings results 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%. Analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio 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.