Fiduciary Alliance LLC Buys 8,853 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Fiduciary Alliance LLC grew its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 132.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 15,541 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 8,853 shares during the period. Fiduciary Alliance LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,674,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its position in Duke Energy by 3.7% during the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 7,006 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $702,000 after acquiring an additional 247 shares during the last quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at $580,000. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 2.2% in the second quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 29,504 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,957,000 after purchasing an additional 647 shares during the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its position in Duke Energy by 32.0% during the second quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 24,634 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,469,000 after buying an additional 5,977 shares during the period. Finally, Bruce & Co. Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 0.9% in the second quarter. Bruce & Co. Inc. now owns 205,816 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $20,629,000 after buying an additional 1,926 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of DUK stock opened at $106.29 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The stock has a market cap of $82.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.54, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.49. The business’s fifty day moving average is $110.88 and its 200 day moving average is $111.83. Duke Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $90.09 and a twelve 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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.06 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 14.31%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.94 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.93%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.84%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on DUK shares. KeyCorp cut Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target 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. Mizuho raised shares of Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.23.

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.