Waverly Advisors LLC Boosts Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Waverly Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 12.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 67,854 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 7,334 shares during the period. Waverly Advisors LLC's holdings in Duke Energy were worth $7,311,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Parkworth Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its position 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 valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CGC Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 366.7% in the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 308 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Guggenheim boosted 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. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $127.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $125.81.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of DUK traded up $0.94 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $116.51. 2,683,676 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,432,714. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. Duke Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $99.21 and a fifty-two week high of $125.27. The business's 50 day moving average is $119.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $114.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.39.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 analysts' expectations of $7.70 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.44 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.59%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Duke Energy's payout ratio 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.