LVW Advisors LLC Purchases 754 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

LVW Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 4.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,708 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 754 shares during the quarter. LVW Advisors LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $2,016,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy during the third quarter worth $30,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 332.9% in the fourth 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. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the third quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 334 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on DUK. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on 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. KeyCorp cut Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Mizuho upgraded shares of Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.23.

Duke Energy Price Performance

DUK stock opened at $109.34 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $110.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $111.97. 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 0.45, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The firm has a market cap of $84.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.49.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.06 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 9.34%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.94 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 76.84%.

Duke Energy Company 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.