Edgemoor Investment Advisors Inc. Sells 464 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Edgemoor Investment Advisors Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 19.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,870 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 464 shares during the period. Edgemoor Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $201,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. United Bank boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 2.7% during the third quarter. United Bank now owns 4,764 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $549,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the period. KBC Group NV boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 9.0% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 58,543 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,750,000 after buying an additional 4,847 shares during the period. ING Groep NV purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $2,825,000. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 6.8% during the third quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,194 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $368,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 9.4% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 16,601 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,914,000 after buying an additional 1,432 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on DUK. Guggenheim boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.93.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of DUK stock opened at $120.29 on Monday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $112.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $113.46. The company has a market cap of $93.40 billion, a PE ratio of 21.07, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. Duke Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $92.75 and a 12-month high of $121.25.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.50% and a net margin of 14.90%. Analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is presently 73.20%.

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.