Avion Wealth Increases Stock Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Avion Wealth increased its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 264.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 586 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 425 shares during the period. Avion Wealth’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $63,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 32.4% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 597,573 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $64,430,000 after buying an additional 146,089 shares in the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 70.5% during the fourth quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 3,553 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $383,000 after buying an additional 1,469 shares in the last quarter. Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new stake in Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth $2,457,000. Atlas Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 16.9% during the fourth quarter. Atlas Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,582 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $278,000 after purchasing an additional 374 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Certuity LLC lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 29.5% during the fourth quarter. Certuity LLC now owns 3,380 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $364,000 after purchasing an additional 770 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Mizuho raised shares of 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. Morgan Stanley decreased 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 note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, KeyCorp downgraded shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.08.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Duke Energy stock opened at $116.70 on Wednesday. Duke Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $90.09 and a 12-month high of $121.25. The stock has a market cap of $90.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.45, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $109.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $112.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

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 dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is currently 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.