Mather Group LLC. Buys 899 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Mather Group LLC. boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 17.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,980 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 899 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $644,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. CGC Financial Services LLC increased its stake in Duke Energy by 366.7% during the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 308 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares during the period. Winch Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 332.9% in the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 316 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $38,000. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Trading Up 1.3 %

NYSE DUK opened at $113.88 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $109.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $112.65. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $90.09 and a 12 month high of $121.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.97 billion, a PE ratio of 20.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by ($0.11). Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 9.34%. The company had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.94 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.67%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.84%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on DUK. KeyCorp cut Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Mizuho raised 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 report on Tuesday, October 15th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.08.

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.