Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Stake Lessened by Retirement Systems of Alabama

Retirement Systems of Alabama trimmed its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 0.8% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 168,949 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,295 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $19,480,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy in the third quarter worth about $30,000. Sachetta LLC lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 41.9% in the 2nd 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 last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 100.0% in the 3rd 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. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on DUK. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday. Barclays upped their target price on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Bank of America boosted 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, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.23.

Duke Energy Price Performance

NYSE DUK opened at $108.82 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $114.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $110.87. Duke Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $90.09 and a 52-week high of $121.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.45.

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). Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 9.34%. The company had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.06 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.94 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.95 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. Stockholders 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 3.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. 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.