Winch Advisory Services LLC Purchases 243 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Winch Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 332.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 316 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 243 shares during the period. Winch Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $34,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 100.0% in the third quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 334 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the period. Finally, Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 82.7% in the 3rd quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 360 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Mizuho upgraded shares of Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Duke Energy in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $138.00 price objective on the stock. KeyCorp cut Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.23.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Duke Energy stock opened at $106.39 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $110.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $111.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $82.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. Duke Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $90.09 and a 12-month high of $121.25.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.94 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.93%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 76.84%.

Duke Energy 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.