Versant Capital Management Inc Acquires 368 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 50.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,098 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 368 shares during the quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $118,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Goodman Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 2nd quarter worth about $2,888,000. Hilltop Holdings Inc. boosted its position in Duke Energy by 59.2% during the third quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 23,388 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,697,000 after purchasing an additional 8,699 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 2.6% during the third 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. Commerce Bank raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 5.9% in the third quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 269,217 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,041,000 after purchasing an additional 15,069 shares during the period. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1,258.1% in the third quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 49,341 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,689,000 after buying an additional 45,708 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on DUK shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Scotiabank increased their target price on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Mizuho upgraded Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $138.00 price objective on the stock. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.23.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:DUK opened at $107.78 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $83.26 billion, a PE ratio of 19.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.47. 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. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $111.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $111.34.

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

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.88%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 76.84%.

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.