Strategic Planning Group LLC Buys 1,530 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Strategic Planning Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 4.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 37,793 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,530 shares during the period. Strategic Planning Group LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $4,072,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. PBMares Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Duke Energy by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. PBMares Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,886 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $563,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Castleview Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 4.9% in 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 raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 1.4% during the third quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC now owns 6,591 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $760,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 3.5% in the third quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,730 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $315,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the period. Finally, Chicago Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 0.9% in the third quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 10,163 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,172,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on DUK. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective 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. Scotiabank raised their target price 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. Finally, Mizuho raised Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.23.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:DUK opened at $110.67 on Thursday. Duke Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $90.09 and a 1 year high of $121.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $110.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $112.46. The company has a market capitalization of $85.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.06 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 9.34%. The company’s 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, analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

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