Ranch Capital Advisors Inc. Buys 570 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Ranch Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 3.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,347 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 570 shares during the period. Ranch Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,761,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the third quarter worth $29,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. CGC Financial Services LLC lifted its position 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 valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Guggenheim boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.57.

Duke Energy Stock Up 1.7 %

NYSE:DUK opened at $116.78 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $90.68 billion, a PE ratio of 20.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48. Duke Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $92.75 and a twelve month high of $121.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. The company’s 50 day moving average is $111.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $113.26.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.90% and a return on equity of 9.50%. Analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 73.20%.

Duke Energy 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.