Chung Wu Investment Group LLC Invests $217,000 in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Chung Wu Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 2,018 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $217,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its position in Duke Energy by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 161,574 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $18,629,000 after buying an additional 14,166 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Duke Energy by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 334 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. United Advisor Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the third quarter worth about $294,000. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 64.6% in the third quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 5,350 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $617,000 after buying an additional 2,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Catalina Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 13.3% in the third quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 3,511 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $405,000 after buying an additional 413 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on DUK shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on 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. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Guggenheim upped their price target on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price target on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.57.

Duke Energy Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $115.26 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $89.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.19, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48. Duke Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $92.75 and a fifty-two week high of $121.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.67. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $111.51 and a 200 day moving average of $113.21.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 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%. As a group, research analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.63%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 73.20%.

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.