Perigon Wealth Management LLC Purchases 2,491 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Perigon Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 23.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,042 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,491 shares during the quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,422,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. PBMares Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Duke Energy by 1.8% during the third quarter. PBMares Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,886 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $563,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the period. Castleview Partners LLC grew its position in Duke Energy by 4.9% during the third quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 1,944 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $224,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Kanawha Capital Management LLC grew its position in Duke Energy by 1.4% during the third quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC now owns 6,591 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $760,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the period. Baron Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Duke Energy by 3.5% during the third quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,730 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $315,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the period. Finally, Chicago Capital LLC grew its position in Duke Energy by 0.9% during the third quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 10,163 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,172,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on DUK shares. Scotiabank boosted 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 report on Thursday, December 12th. Mizuho raised shares of Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $116.00 to $121.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, 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. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.23.

Duke Energy Price Performance

DUK stock opened at $110.67 on Thursday. Duke Energy Co. has a one year low of $90.09 and a one year high of $121.25. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $110.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $112.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.70. The company has a market capitalization of $85.49 billion, a PE ratio of 20.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.49.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.06 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 14.31%. Duke Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.94 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. 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.