BankPlus Trust Department Takes $53,000 Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 494 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $53,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 35.0% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 50,308 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,834,000 after purchasing an additional 13,056 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 10.7% during the third quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 208,291 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $24,185,000 after buying an additional 20,183 shares in the last quarter. IVC Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Duke Energy during the third quarter worth $205,000. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 2.3% during the third quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 8,495 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $979,000 after buying an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Orrstown Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Duke Energy during the third quarter worth $217,000. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on DUK. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective 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. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $121.62.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:DUK opened at $117.29 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $110.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $113.06. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. The company has a market cap of $90.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.50. Duke Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $90.09 and a twelve month high of $121.25.

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

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 73.20%.

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.