Novem Group Purchases Shares of 2,784 Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Novem Group acquired a new stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,784 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $300,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of DUK. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its position in Duke Energy by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 31,353 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,378,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Intergy Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Intergy Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,113 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $228,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 7,233 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $779,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Cravens & Co Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Cravens & Co Advisors LLC now owns 2,624 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $283,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chicago Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 10,263 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,106,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $130.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Duke Energy from $128.00 to $123.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $125.81.

Duke Energy Price Performance

NYSE DUK traded down $1.92 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $114.47. 713,761 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,429,515. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $118.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $114.71. 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 $88.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.39.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last released 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 return on equity of 9.50% and a net margin of 14.90%. The company had revenue of $8.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.44 EPS. Duke Energy's quarterly revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict 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 paid a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.32%.

Duke Energy Company 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.