QRG Capital Management Inc. Purchases 50,630 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 38.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 183,192 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 50,630 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $19,737,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $217,000. abrdn plc raised its position in Duke Energy by 23.2% in the 3rd quarter. abrdn plc now owns 257,492 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,707,000 after buying an additional 48,514 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC raised its position in Duke Energy by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 16,258 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,875,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Duke Energy by 11.7% in the 3rd quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,079 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $369,000 after buying an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. purchased a new stake in Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $223,000. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Scotiabank increased their price target 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. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Duke Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $121.62.

Duke Energy Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of DUK opened at $116.34 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $110.67 and a 200 day moving average of $113.08. Duke Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $90.09 and a fifty-two week high of $121.25. The firm has a market cap of $89.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.67.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its 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 forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current 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 paid a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.59%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 73.20%.

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.