Jones Financial Companies Lllp Purchases 155,732 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 43.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 511,521 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 155,732 shares during the quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $55,111,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of DUK. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. Principal Securities Inc. increased its stake in Duke Energy by 10.2% during the third quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 34,792 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,012,000 after acquiring an additional 3,208 shares during the last quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 6,053 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $698,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Americana Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 20.3% in the 3rd quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 4,672 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $539,000 after purchasing an additional 787 shares during the period. Finally, Eads & Heald Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $222,000. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Duke Energy Price Performance

DUK opened at $117.50 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $90.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.58, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. Duke Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $90.09 and a 12-month high of $121.25. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $111.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $113.13.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.90% and a return on equity of 9.50%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.56%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.20%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on DUK. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $121.62.

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.