WealthTrak Capital Management LLC Acquires New Stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 276 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $30,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Parkworth Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy in the third quarter worth about $29,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 1,500.0% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CGC Financial Services LLC increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 366.7% during the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 308 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DUK has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Guggenheim increased 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. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $123.87.

Duke Energy Trading Up 1.5 %

NYSE:DUK opened at $119.42 on Friday. Duke Energy Co. has a one year low of $92.75 and a one year high of $121.47. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $115.17 and a 200-day moving average price of $113.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.44.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.50%. Duke Energy’s 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.