Transform Wealth LLC Purchases 1,904 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Transform Wealth LLC raised its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 49.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,768 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,904 shares during the quarter. Transform Wealth LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $621,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 332.9% during the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 316 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy in the third quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Duke Energy by 100.0% in the third quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 334 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of DUK stock opened at $110.73 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.45. Duke Energy Co. has a one year low of $90.09 and a one year high of $121.25. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $110.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $112.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $85.54 billion, a PE ratio of 20.35, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.49.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.06 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 14.31%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.94 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.77%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 76.84%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on DUK. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Barclays increased their price target on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Mizuho upgraded 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 research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their target price on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Six investment 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 an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.23.

About Duke Energy

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.