Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Bought by Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC

Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,025 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the period. Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,403,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 11,471.4% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 6,777,973 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $781,500,000 after buying an additional 6,719,398 shares during the period. Groupama Asset Managment acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,537,000. Zimmer Partners LP purchased a new stake in Duke Energy during the third quarter worth about $166,263,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 155.1% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,873,321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $201,832,000 after purchasing an additional 1,138,979 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 13,829.1% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,125,607 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $129,782,000 after purchasing an additional 1,117,526 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on DUK. Scotiabank raised their price target 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. Mizuho raised Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on 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, KeyCorp lowered shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.23.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:DUK opened at $112.14 on Friday. Duke Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $90.09 and a 1-year high of $121.25. The firm has a market cap of $86.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.49. 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’s fifty day moving average price is $110.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $112.49.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by ($0.11). Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 14.31%. The business had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.06 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.94 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.91 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. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.73%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 76.84%.

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.