Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Bought by Paradigm Capital Management LLC NV

Paradigm Capital Management LLC NV grew its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,797 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 226 shares during the quarter. Paradigm Capital Management LLC NV’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $732,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of DUK. Parkworth Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew 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 valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CGC Financial Services LLC grew 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 valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on DUK shares. Citigroup upped their price target on Duke Energy from $130.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Duke Energy from $128.00 to $123.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Seven investment 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, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $126.00.

Duke Energy Stock Down 2.4%

Duke Energy stock opened at $113.12 on Wednesday. Duke Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $99.21 and a fifty-two week high of $125.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.67. The company has a market capitalization of $87.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.81, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.39. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $119.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $114.55.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its earnings results 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 the consensus estimate of $7.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.44 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research 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 3.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is currently 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.