Persium Advisors LLC Makes New $637,000 Investment in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Persium Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 5,914 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $637,000. Duke Energy comprises about 0.6% of Persium Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cooper Financial Group grew its position in Duke Energy by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 10,201 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,099,000 after acquiring an additional 696 shares during the last quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 5,695 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $614,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 15.2% in the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 13,844 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,466,000 after purchasing an additional 1,826 shares during the period. Asset Allocation & Management Company LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $299,000. Finally, CHICAGO TRUST Co NA increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 36.3% in the fourth quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA now owns 5,912 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $637,000 after acquiring an additional 1,575 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE:DUK traded up $0.43 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $106.30. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,334,078 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,845,230. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.54, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.47. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $111.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $111.79. Duke Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $90.09 and a 1 year high of $121.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.70.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by ($0.11). Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 9.34%. The firm had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.94 EPS. Duke Energy’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

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. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.93%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 76.84%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DUK has been the subject of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Duke Energy in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $138.00 price target for the company. Mizuho upgraded Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $116.00 to $121.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. 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, 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 report on Friday, November 22nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.23.

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.