BXM Wealth LLC Acquires New Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

BXM Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 3,588 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $387,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy in the third quarter worth $29,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the third quarter valued at $30,000. CGC Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 366.7% in the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 308 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 332.9% in the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 316 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the third quarter valued at $38,000. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DUK opened at $111.69 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $109.86 and a 200 day moving average of $112.94. The stock has a market cap of $86.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.50. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $90.09 and a 12 month high of $121.25. 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 (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 9.34%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.74%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is presently 76.84%.

Duke Energy 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.