Anchor Pointe Wealth Management LLC Makes New $252,000 Investment in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Anchor Pointe Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 2,338 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $252,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 11.6% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,754 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $728,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC now owns 4,256 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $459,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 54.8% in the 4th quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 4,121 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $444,000 after acquiring an additional 1,458 shares in the last quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $227,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 18.7% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 24,772 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,856,000 after acquiring an additional 3,908 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Duke Energy Price Performance

NYSE:DUK traded up $2.16 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $117.61. 8,077,893 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,463,235. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $118.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $114.73. Duke Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $99.21 and a 1 year high of $125.27. The company has a market cap of $91.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.39.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $8.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.70 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.50% and a net margin of 14.90%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.44 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $126.00 to $125.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $127.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $125.81.

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.