Warm Springs Advisors Inc. Invests $281,000 in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Warm Springs Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 2,605 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $281,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in DUK. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,885,939 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $7,852,731,000 after purchasing an additional 779,054 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in Duke Energy by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 18,097,796 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,949,857,000 after buying an additional 124,863 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Duke Energy by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,873,788 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,930,833,000 after acquiring an additional 385,612 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,562,545 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $922,529,000 after acquiring an additional 135,665 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 8,503,503 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $916,168,000 after purchasing an additional 357,967 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DUK has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley decreased 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 research note on Thursday, May 22nd. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $128.00 to $123.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Guggenheim increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $130.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $125.81.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

DUK traded up $0.95 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $115.40. The company had a trading volume of 1,100,732 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,432,377. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $118.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $114.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.67. Duke Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $99.21 and a 12-month high of $125.27. The stock has a market cap of $89.69 billion, a PE ratio of 20.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.39.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $8.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.44 earnings per share. Duke Energy's revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.62%. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.