Asset Allocation & Management Company LLC Invests $299,000 in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Asset Allocation & Management Company LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,775 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $299,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Duke Energy by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 334 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Duke Energy by 82.7% in the 3rd quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 360 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on DUK shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on 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. KeyCorp lowered Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Mizuho raised Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Duke Energy in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $138.00 target price on the stock. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.23.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Duke Energy stock traded down $0.43 during trading on Monday, hitting $105.44. The stock had a trading volume of 705,708 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,762,255. Duke Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $90.09 and a 1 year high of $121.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $111.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $111.79. The stock has a market cap of $81.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.47.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.06 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 14.31%. The company’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.94 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.95 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.96%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is currently 76.84%.

Duke Energy Company 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.