TCW Group Inc. Buys 270 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

TCW Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,817 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 270 shares during the quarter. TCW Group Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,165,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in Duke Energy by 35.0% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 50,308 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,834,000 after purchasing an additional 13,056 shares during the period. Arkadios Wealth Advisors increased its position in Duke Energy by 18.7% during the 3rd quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 11,089 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,279,000 after purchasing an additional 1,747 shares during the period. Modera Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Duke Energy by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 22,246 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,565,000 after purchasing an additional 593 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its position in Duke Energy by 10.7% during the 3rd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 208,291 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $24,185,000 after purchasing an additional 20,183 shares during the period. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its position in Duke Energy by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 89,685 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,340,000 after purchasing an additional 5,770 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.3 %

NYSE:DUK opened at $115.86 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $89.50 billion, a PE ratio of 20.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.50. Duke Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $90.09 and a twelve month high of $121.25. 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 company’s 50 day moving average is $110.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $113.03.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share 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%. Analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 73.20%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on DUK. Scotiabank raised 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 report on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $121.62.

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.