Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp Purchases 174 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp lifted its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 34,251 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 174 shares during the quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $3,690,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bailard Inc. grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 31,921 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,439,000 after buying an additional 3,139 shares in the last quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC now owns 52,097 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,613,000 after buying an additional 2,705 shares in the last quarter. Pines Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,032,000. CCM Investment Advisers LLC boosted its position in Duke Energy by 24.3% during the fourth quarter. CCM Investment Advisers LLC now owns 83,610 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,008,000 after purchasing an additional 16,356 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in Duke Energy by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 296,463 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,941,000 after purchasing an additional 9,070 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Duke Energy stock opened at $116.78 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $111.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $113.25. Duke Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $92.75 and a 52-week high of $121.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.50% and a net margin of 14.90%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is presently 73.20%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on DUK shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Scotiabank upped their target price on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Guggenheim upped their target price on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.57.

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.