Valmark Advisers Inc. Increases Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Valmark Advisers Inc. grew its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 9,993 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 224 shares during the quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,077,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC now owns 52,097 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,613,000 after buying an additional 2,705 shares in the last quarter. CCM Investment Advisers LLC grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 24.3% in the fourth quarter. CCM Investment Advisers LLC now owns 83,610 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,008,000 after purchasing an additional 16,356 shares during the period. Pines Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,032,000. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 296,463 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,941,000 after buying an additional 9,070 shares during the period. Finally, Corundum Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,566,000. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of DUK stock opened at $111.69 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.27 billion, a PE ratio of 20.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.50. Duke Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $90.09 and a 52-week high of $121.25. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $109.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $113.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 14.31%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.91 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.74%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 76.84%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on DUK shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective 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. KeyCorp cut Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.08.

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.