Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Lowers Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lowered its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 372,851 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 18,330 shares during the quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $42,990,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the third quarter worth $30,000. Sachetta LLC raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 41.9% during the second quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the third quarter valued at about $38,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 100.0% during the third quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 334 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Duke Energy by 82.7% during the 3rd quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 360 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Mizuho raised shares of Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Scotiabank raised their price target on Duke Energy from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $121.69.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:DUK opened at $114.02 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The company has a market capitalization of $88.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.96, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.47. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $90.09 and a 12 month high of $121.25. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $115.01 and its 200 day moving average is $110.49.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($0.11). Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 14.31%. The business had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.94 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.96 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.67%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio 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.