SPC Financial Inc. Raises Stock Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

SPC Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 18.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,848 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,501 shares during the period. SPC Financial Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,061,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in Duke Energy by 107.2% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 38,262 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,122,000 after purchasing an additional 19,792 shares during the period. Oak Grove Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 120.4% in the 4th quarter. Oak Grove Capital LLC now owns 89,740 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,669,000 after acquiring an additional 49,020 shares in the last quarter. Souders Financial Advisors lifted its position in Duke Energy by 19.4% during the 4th quarter. Souders Financial Advisors now owns 12,357 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,331,000 after acquiring an additional 2,005 shares during the period. Triad Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $227,000. Finally, Keybank National Association OH lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 94,516 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,183,000 after purchasing an additional 1,357 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:DUK opened at $116.46 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $111.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $113.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.50. Duke Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $92.33 and a 12-month high of $121.25. 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 (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.90% and a return on equity of 9.50%. Equities research analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS 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. 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.59%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is presently 73.20%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Scotiabank boosted 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 note on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target 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. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $121.62.

Duke Energy Company 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.