Griffith & Werner Inc. Buys Shares of 22,331 Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Griffith & Werner Inc. acquired a new position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 22,331 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,406,000. Duke Energy accounts for 1.6% of Griffith & Werner Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Parkworth Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Duke Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, CGC Financial Services LLC lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 366.7% during the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 308 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on DUK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $130.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Duke Energy from $127.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $126.00 to $125.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $125.81.

Duke Energy Price Performance

NYSE:DUK traded down $0.13 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $116.36. 3,741,730 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,440,225. Duke Energy Co. has a one year low of $99.21 and a one year high of $125.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $118.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $114.70. The company has a market capitalization of $90.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.39.

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

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.59%. 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.