May Hill Capital LLC Takes $287,000 Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

May Hill Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,664 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $287,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Duke Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Parkworth Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Duke Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 1,500.0% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 270 shares during the period. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of DUK opened at $121.08 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $115.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $113.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.44. Duke Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $92.75 and a 1-year high of $122.50. The stock has a market cap of $94.08 billion, a PE ratio of 21.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48.

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%. As a group, analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.45%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 73.20%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DUK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Guggenheim lifted 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, March 5th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $123.87.

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.