Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Bought by Constitution Capital LLC

Constitution Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 12.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,254 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,580 shares during the quarter. Duke Energy comprises 1.9% of Constitution Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Constitution Capital LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $3,367,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in DUK. Certified Advisory Corp lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Certified Advisory Corp now owns 19,329 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,083,000 after buying an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 7,208 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $777,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the period. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC lifted its position in Duke Energy by 28.0% in the 4th quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 5,739 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $618,000 after purchasing an additional 1,256 shares during the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 29,389 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,166,000 after purchasing an additional 2,769 shares during the period. Finally, Winch Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Duke Energy by 332.9% in the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 316 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. KeyCorp downgraded Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Mizuho upgraded Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Barclays raised their price target on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, 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 note on Thursday, December 12th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.23.

Duke Energy Stock Up 2.4 %

DUK stock opened at $109.05 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $84.24 billion, a PE ratio of 20.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.49. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $90.09 and a 12 month high of $121.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $110.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $111.83.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.06 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 9.34%. Duke Energy’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.94 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.83%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is presently 76.84%.

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.