Aegis Wealth Management LLC Invests $625,000 in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Aegis Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 5,803 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $625,000.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of DUK. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Parkworth Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1,500.0% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 288 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 270 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on DUK. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $130.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price objective 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. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $125.81.

Duke Energy Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of NYSE:DUK traded up $2.16 on Friday, hitting $117.61. 8,077,893 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,461,048. The stock has a market capitalization 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. 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 Co. has a 12 month low of $99.21 and a 12 month high of $125.27. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $118.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $114.82.

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

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

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

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.