Stablepoint Partners LLC Has $4.32 Million Stock Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Stablepoint Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 40,104 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 304 shares during the quarter. Stablepoint Partners LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $4,321,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in DUK. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the third quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Duke Energy by 100.0% during the third quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 334 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on DUK shares. 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 research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. KeyCorp lowered shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.23.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Duke Energy stock opened at $109.86 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $84.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.20, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.49. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $110.26 and its 200-day moving average is $112.21. 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 Co. has a 12 month low of $90.09 and a 12 month high of $121.25.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($0.11). Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 14.31%. The firm had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.94 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.92 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.80%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.