Ballentine Partners LLC Has $991,000 Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Ballentine Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 4.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 9,195 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 405 shares during the quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $991,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC now owns 52,097 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,613,000 after buying an additional 2,705 shares in the last quarter. Goodman Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,888,000. CCM Investment Advisers LLC raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 24.3% during the fourth quarter. CCM Investment Advisers LLC now owns 83,610 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,008,000 after acquiring an additional 16,356 shares during the last quarter. Pines Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $1,032,000. Finally, Hilltop Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 59.2% in the third quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 23,388 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,697,000 after buying an additional 8,699 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Duke Energy Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of DUK opened at $108.86 on Thursday. Duke Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $90.09 and a 52-week high of $121.25. The company has a market cap of $84.09 billion, a PE ratio of 20.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The business has a fifty day moving average of $110.38 and a 200 day moving average of $112.19.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.06 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 9.34%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.94 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.92 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 3.84%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 76.84%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on DUK shares. Mizuho upgraded shares of Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Barclays upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target 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. KeyCorp cut Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.23.

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.