Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Sells 62,247 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 63.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 35,889 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 62,247 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $4,138,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in Duke Energy by 11.7% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 13,524 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,308,000 after purchasing an additional 1,420 shares during the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System grew its position in Duke Energy by 12.0% in the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 935,539 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $90,251,000 after acquiring an additional 100,496 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Duke Energy by 17.9% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 908,285 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $87,840,000 after acquiring an additional 137,778 shares during the last quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Duke Energy during the first quarter valued at approximately $204,000. Finally, TBH Global Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 6.8% in the 1st quarter. TBH Global Asset Management LLC now owns 6,182 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $598,000 after purchasing an additional 392 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DUK has been the topic of several recent research reports. Bank of America increased their price target on Duke Energy from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $138.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $121.85.

Duke Energy Price Performance

DUK opened at $111.89 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $115.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $108.97. The company has a market capitalization of $86.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.57, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.47. Duke Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $86.61 and a 12-month high of $121.25.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $8.06 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.94 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 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 Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.74%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.