Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC Raises Stock Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 153,264 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,941 shares during the quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $16,513,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 31,353 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,378,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the period. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Duke Energy by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,456 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $372,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Intergy Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Intergy Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,113 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $228,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 7,233 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $779,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Finally, Missouri Trust & Investment Co grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 10.3% during the fourth quarter. Missouri Trust & Investment Co now owns 1,071 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $115,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DUK has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.87.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $117.67 on Friday. 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 fifty-two week low of $92.75 and a fifty-two week high of $121.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $114.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $113.71.

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

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.55%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.20%.

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.