Stonebridge Financial Group LLC Purchases Shares of 640 Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm acquired 640 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $69,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Summit Trail Advisors LLC raised its position in Duke Energy by 65.5% in the 4th quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 13,787 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,485,000 after buying an additional 5,458 shares during the last quarter. Principle Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 16.4% in the 4th quarter. Principle Wealth Partners LLC now owns 41,812 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,505,000 after acquiring an additional 5,898 shares in the last quarter. International Private Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $295,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 380.4% during the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 1,595 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $172,000 after purchasing an additional 1,263 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 41,931 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,518,000 after purchasing an additional 1,093 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DUK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. KeyCorp cut shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced 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. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.08.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Duke Energy stock opened at $113.89 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $109.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $112.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. Duke Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $90.09 and a 1-year high of $121.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.98 billion, a PE ratio of 20.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.50.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share 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, analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.67%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 76.84%.

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.