Clearstead Advisors LLC Sells 126 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Clearstead Advisors LLC cut its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK – Get Rating) by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,133 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 126 shares during the period. Clearstead Advisors LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $291,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. Fairfield Bush & CO. purchased a new stake in Duke Energy in the first quarter worth about $40,000. Cibc World Market Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1.2% in the first quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 47,250 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,276,000 after buying an additional 581 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 29.5% in the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 9,751 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,089,000 after buying an additional 2,223 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 447.8% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,260 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $141,000 after buying an additional 1,030 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 5.2% in the first quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 6,505 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $726,000 after buying an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. 63.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

In related news, SVP Louis E. Renjel sold 1,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.90, for a total transaction of $189,810.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $995,703.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DUK opened at $95.09 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $99.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $99.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.51. The stock has a market cap of $73.23 billion, a PE ratio of 28.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.42. Duke Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $83.76 and a 1 year high of $116.33.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 9th. The utilities provider reported $1.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $7.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.27 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 8.45%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.94 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 16th. Investors of record on Friday, February 17th will be paid a dividend of $1.005 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 16th. This represents a $4.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.23%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 121.08%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 9th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $108.00 to $105.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $111.00 to $103.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 10th. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, November 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $107.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $106.64.

Duke Energy Company Profile

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Duke Energy Corp. engages in the distribution of natural gas and energy related services. It operates through the following segments: Electric Utilities and Infrastructure, Gas Utilities & Infrastructure and Commercial Renewables. The Electric Utilities and Infrastructure segment conducts operations in regulated electric utilities in the Carolinas, Florida and the Midwest.