Providence First Trust Co Purchases 12,441 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Providence First Trust Co increased its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 565.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,641 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,441 shares during the quarter. Providence First Trust Co’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,577,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Diversify Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Duke Energy by 11.7% during the third quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,079 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $369,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares during the period. Diversify Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 5.0% during the third quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,958 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $598,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares during the period. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Duke Energy by 3,922.2% in the third quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,068 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $584,000 after purchasing an additional 4,942 shares during the period. United Asset Strategies Inc. boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 27.4% during the third quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 2,839 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $327,000 after buying an additional 611 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on DUK. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $121.62.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Duke Energy stock opened at $117.50 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $90.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.50. Duke Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $90.09 and a 12-month high of $121.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $111.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $113.13.

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

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

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 paid a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.20%.

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.