CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp Acquires 2,601 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp increased its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 3.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 75,187 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,601 shares during the period. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $8,101,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Duke Energy by 15.2% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,816,758 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $182,101,000 after purchasing an additional 240,136 shares during the last quarter. One Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $426,000. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 17.7% in the second quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 8,287 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $831,000 after acquiring an additional 1,247 shares in the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new position in Duke Energy in the second quarter worth $2,147,000. Finally, Axxcess Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 8.1% during the 2nd quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 29,510 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,958,000 after purchasing an additional 2,223 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Down 0.4 %

DUK stock opened at $106.39 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $110.73 and its 200 day moving average is $111.87. The firm has a market cap of $82.18 billion, a PE ratio of 19.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.49. Duke Energy Co. has a one year low of $90.09 and a one year high of $121.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.70.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.06 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 14.31%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.94 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.95 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 76.84%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on DUK shares. Barclays upped their target price on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Mizuho upgraded Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.23.

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.