Crowley Wealth Management Inc. Makes New Investment in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 9,715 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,047,000. Duke Energy accounts for 0.9% of Crowley Wealth Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Parkworth Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 1,500.0% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the period. Finally, CGC Financial Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 366.7% during the fourth 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. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Guggenheim upped 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. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.87.

Duke Energy Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $119.01 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $92.47 billion, a PE ratio of 20.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48. Duke Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $92.75 and a 1-year high of $121.47. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $114.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $113.67.

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

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.51%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is currently 73.20%.

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.