Knuff & Co LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Knuff & Co LLC lifted its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 7.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,464 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 106 shares during the period. Knuff & Co LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $158,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,488,176 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,016,846,000 after purchasing an additional 442,302 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Duke Energy by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,562,545 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $922,529,000 after buying an additional 135,665 shares during the last quarter. Amundi grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 29.2% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,488,849 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $269,368,000 after acquiring an additional 561,784 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 0.3% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 2,290,641 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $264,111,000 after acquiring an additional 6,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Groupama Asset Managment purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,537,000. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

NYSE DUK opened at $117.76 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.62, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $112.22 and a 200 day moving average of $113.34. 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 twelve month low of $92.75 and a twelve month high of $121.25.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.50% and a net margin of 14.90%. Sell-side analysts anticipate 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 given 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 3.55%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.20%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on DUK shares. Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on 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 Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.93.

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.