VSM Wealth Advisory LLC Acquires Shares of 3,597 Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 3,597 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $388,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of DUK. Parkworth Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1,500.0% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CGC Financial Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 366.7% in the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 308 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Duke Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.93.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.0 %

DUK stock opened at $120.85 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $93.84 billion, a PE ratio of 21.17, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.67. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $113.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $113.57. Duke Energy Co. has a one year low of $92.75 and a one year high of $121.47.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 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.