Banco Santander S.A. Acquires 510 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Banco Santander S.A. lifted its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 7.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,643 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 510 shares during the period. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $823,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Baron Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,730 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $315,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 31,353 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,378,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,456 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $372,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Intergy Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Intergy Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,113 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $228,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 7,233 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $779,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on DUK. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of 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. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.57.

Duke Energy Stock Up 1.7 %

Duke Energy stock opened at $116.78 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.68 billion, a PE ratio of 20.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $111.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $113.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.44. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $92.75 and a 12 month high of $121.25.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.90% and a return on equity of 9.50%. On average, analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 73.20%.

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.