Asset Planning Inc Makes New $369,000 Investment in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Asset Planning Inc acquired a new stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 3,426 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $369,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in DUK. CX Institutional grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 10.8% in the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 3,474 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $401,000 after purchasing an additional 339 shares during the period. Creative Planning grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 9.3% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 304,434 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $35,101,000 after purchasing an additional 25,937 shares during the period. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 2.8% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 9,510 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,097,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the period. Provident Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the third quarter valued at $226,000. Finally, Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 11.4% in the third quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,028 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $464,000 after acquiring an additional 413 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on DUK shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Scotiabank boosted 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 cut Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.08.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of DUK stock opened at $113.89 on Friday. Duke Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $90.09 and a 12-month high of $121.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.50. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $109.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $112.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.45.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 14.31%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.91 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

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

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.