Arizona State Retirement System Has $23.99 Million Stock Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Arizona State Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 222,639 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,355 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $23,987,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. CGC Financial Services LLC boosted its position in Duke Energy by 366.7% during the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 308 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares during the period. Winch Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Duke Energy by 332.9% during the fourth 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 period. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. 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 note on Friday, February 21st. 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. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.57.

Duke Energy Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $115.26 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.67. Duke Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $92.75 and a 52-week high of $121.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $111.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $113.21.

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

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.63%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.20%.

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.