Consolidated Planning Corp Boosts Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Consolidated Planning Corp grew its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 26.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,755 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 570 shares during the period. Consolidated Planning Corp’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $297,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of DUK. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in Duke Energy by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 240,094 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,868,000 after purchasing an additional 17,827 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Guys Formula LLC grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 10.5% during the 4th quarter. Retirement Guys Formula LLC now owns 7,794 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $840,000 after buying an additional 741 shares in the last quarter. Avion Wealth lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 264.0% in the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 586 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 425 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 32.4% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 597,573 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $64,430,000 after acquiring an additional 146,089 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC increased its position in Duke Energy by 70.5% during the 4th quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 3,553 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $383,000 after purchasing an additional 1,469 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on DUK. 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 research note on Friday, November 22nd. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. KeyCorp lowered Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Scotiabank lifted 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. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.08.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

DUK opened at $113.89 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $109.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $112.93. The company has a market cap of $87.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. Duke Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $90.09 and a 52-week high of $121.25.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 9.34%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.67%. Duke Energy’s 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.