First Heartland Consultants Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

First Heartland Consultants Inc. reduced its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 31.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,006 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,267 shares during the period. First Heartland Consultants Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $577,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of DUK. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 69.6% during the 2nd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 290 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 101.2% in the 1st quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 336 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 1st quarter worth about $36,000. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $138.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Six 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, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $121.85.

Duke Energy Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:DUK opened at $111.89 on Wednesday. Duke Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $86.61 and a twelve month high of $121.25. The firm has a market cap of $86.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.57, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a 50 day moving average of $115.81 and a 200-day moving average of $108.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55.

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). Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 9.34%. The business had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.94 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.74%. 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.