C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors Increases Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors raised its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 8.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,541 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 416 shares during the period. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors’ holdings in Duke Energy were worth $597,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of DUK. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC now owns 52,097 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,613,000 after buying an additional 2,705 shares in the last quarter. CCM Investment Advisers LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 24.3% in the 4th quarter. CCM Investment Advisers LLC now owns 83,610 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,008,000 after purchasing an additional 16,356 shares in the last quarter. Pines Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $1,032,000. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in Duke Energy by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 296,463 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,941,000 after purchasing an additional 9,070 shares during the period. Finally, Corundum Group Inc. bought a new stake in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth $1,566,000. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of DUK opened at $111.78 on Thursday. Duke Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $90.09 and a 1-year high of $121.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.58, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.50. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $109.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $112.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.50% and a net margin of 14.90%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.20%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.08.

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.