Woodard & Co. Asset Management Group Inc. ADV Has $2.28 Million Stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Woodard & Co. Asset Management Group Inc. ADV lifted its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,194 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the quarter. Woodard & Co. Asset Management Group Inc. ADV’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $2,283,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of DUK. NTV Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Duke Energy by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. NTV Asset Management LLC now owns 15,336 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,652,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. KLCM Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Duke Energy by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. KLCM Advisors Inc. now owns 7,964 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $858,000 after acquiring an additional 634 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Duke Energy by 485.9% during the fourth quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,957 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $211,000 after acquiring an additional 1,623 shares in the last quarter. Americana Partners LLC raised its stake in Duke Energy by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 4,807 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $518,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Advisors LLC raised its stake in Duke Energy by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 68,020 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,328,000 after acquiring an additional 1,680 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Duke Energy stock opened at $111.69 on Monday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $109.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $112.98. The stock has a market cap of $86.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.50. Duke Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $90.09 and a 12-month high of $121.25. 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 (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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 14.31%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

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 issued a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.74%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 76.84%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DUK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective 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. Scotiabank raised 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. KeyCorp lowered Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised 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. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.08.

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.