Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC Increases Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 21.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 5,351 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 936 shares during the period. Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $577,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of DUK. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy during the third quarter worth $29,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in Duke Energy in the third quarter valued at $30,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC raised 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 buying an additional 243 shares during the period. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Barclays increased their target price on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. KeyCorp cut Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Mizuho raised Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Duke Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.23.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DUK opened at $111.42 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $110.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $112.42. The company has a market cap of $86.07 billion, a PE ratio of 20.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.49. Duke Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $90.09 and a 12-month high of $121.25.

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

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.75%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 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.