AdvisorNet Financial Inc Grows Stock Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 13.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,943 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 693 shares during the quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $640,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its stake in Duke Energy by 11,471.4% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 6,777,973 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $781,500,000 after purchasing an additional 6,719,398 shares in the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment bought a new position in Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,537,000. Zimmer Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $166,263,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 13,829.1% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,125,607 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $129,782,000 after acquiring an additional 1,117,526 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 65.7% during the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 2,052,969 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $205,769,000 after acquiring an additional 813,744 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Duke Energy Price Performance

NYSE DUK opened at $106.39 on Thursday. Duke Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $90.09 and a 1 year high of $121.25. The business’s fifty day moving average is $110.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $111.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $82.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.70.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by ($0.11). Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 14.31%. The company had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.94 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.93%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.84%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on DUK shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of 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. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Duke Energy in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $138.00 price target on the stock. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Mizuho raised shares of Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.23.

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.