Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Sold by Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. lessened its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 8.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,035 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 351 shares during the quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $465,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 9.4% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 108,819 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,520,000 after purchasing an additional 9,334 shares in the last quarter. Goodman Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,888,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,396,000. PrairieView Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at about $501,000. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 362.7% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 27,543 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,664,000 after acquiring an additional 21,590 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on DUK shares. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $138.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $121.85.

Duke Energy Trading Down 0.6 %

Duke Energy stock opened at $110.68 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $115.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $109.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $85.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.47. Duke Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $88.27 and a 52 week 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.06 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 9.34%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.94 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.78%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 76.84%.

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.