Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Sold by NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC

NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC lowered its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 0.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 173,817 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 165 shares during the quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $20,041,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 334 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 82.7% during the third quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 360 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DUK has been the topic of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Mizuho upgraded shares of Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. KeyCorp downgraded Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays increased their price target on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.23.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of DUK traded down $2.32 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $105.91. 713,852 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,725,490. Duke Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $90.09 and a twelve month high of $121.25. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $111.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $111.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $81.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.49.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.94 EPS. Analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.95%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.84%.

About Duke Energy

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.