WASHINGTON TRUST Co Purchases 218 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

WASHINGTON TRUST Co boosted its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,037 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 218 shares during the period. WASHINGTON TRUST Co’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $758,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. Creative Planning grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 9.3% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 304,434 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $35,101,000 after acquiring an additional 25,937 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 98,182 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $11,320,000 after purchasing an additional 1,441 shares in the last quarter. LexAurum Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $216,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 7,137 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $823,000 after purchasing an additional 344 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $260,000. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Down 2.0 %

DUK opened at $111.69 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $109.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $112.96. Duke Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $90.09 and a twelve month high of $121.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.53, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.50.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 9.34%. Equities research analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.74%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 76.84%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DUK has been the topic of a number of research reports. KeyCorp lowered shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price target 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. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.