Diversify Advisory Services LLC Acquires 663 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Diversify Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 21.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,742 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 663 shares during the quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $396,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Diversify Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,064 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $536,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. LVW Advisors LLC raised its position in Duke Energy by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. LVW Advisors LLC now owns 18,708 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,016,000 after purchasing an additional 754 shares during the last quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $5,324,000. Grove Bank & Trust increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 5,803 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $625,000 after buying an additional 290 shares during the period. Finally, Ballast Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Ballast Inc. now owns 15,839 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,706,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $108.86 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $84.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The business has a 50-day moving average of $110.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $112.19. Duke Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $90.09 and a 1 year high of $121.25.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share (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 the consensus estimate of $8.06 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 14.31%. Duke Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.94 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.92 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.84%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is presently 76.84%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Mizuho raised Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. KeyCorp cut shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company 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.