Essential Planning LLC. Invests $1.81 Million in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Essential Planning LLC. bought a new position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 15,850 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,808,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DUK. United Bank raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 4,764 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $549,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 31.0% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 410 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV increased its position in Duke Energy by 38.2% during the 3rd quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 5,796 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $668,000 after buying an additional 1,602 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. increased its position in Duke Energy by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 21,264 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,452,000 after buying an additional 856 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WealthPLAN Partners LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $226,000. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DUK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Guggenheim raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Scotiabank raised 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. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.93.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

DUK stock opened at $116.69 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $90.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48. Duke Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $92.75 and a 1 year high of $121.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $112.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $113.36.

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

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.58%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.