AlphaStar Capital Management LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

AlphaStar Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 19.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 39,947 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,630 shares during the quarter. AlphaStar Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $4,304,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the third quarter worth $30,000. CGC Financial Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 366.7% in the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 308 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Duke Energy by 332.9% in the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 316 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the period. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Mizuho raised shares of Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. 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 lowered their price target on shares of 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. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.08.

Duke Energy Price Performance

NYSE DUK opened at $115.01 on Friday. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average price is $109.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $112.72. The company has a market cap of $88.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.14, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.50. Duke Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $90.09 and a 1 year high of $121.25.

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 business 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 business’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.94 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.63%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is currently 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.