Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Sold by Windward Capital Management Co. CA

Windward Capital Management Co. CA reduced its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 70,056 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 588 shares during the quarter. Windward Capital Management Co. CA’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $7,548,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC boosted its position in Duke Energy by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC now owns 52,097 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,613,000 after acquiring an additional 2,705 shares during the last quarter. CCM Investment Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 24.3% during the 4th quarter. CCM Investment Advisers LLC now owns 83,610 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,008,000 after purchasing an additional 16,356 shares during the last quarter. Pines Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,032,000. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 296,463 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,941,000 after purchasing an additional 9,070 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Corundum Group Inc. purchased a new position in Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,566,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Mizuho raised shares of Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, KeyCorp cut Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.08.

Duke Energy Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:DUK opened at $112.46 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.87 billion, a PE ratio of 20.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.50. Duke Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $90.09 and a 1 year high of $121.25. 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’s 50-day moving average is $110.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $112.61.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its 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). The business had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.06 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 14.31%. Duke Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.94 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.91 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.72%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 76.84%.

Duke Energy 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.