Jeppson Wealth Management LLC Lowers Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Jeppson Wealth Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,608 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 373 shares during the period. Jeppson Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,789,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the third quarter worth about $30,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 332.9% in the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 316 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. KeyCorp lowered Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Mizuho raised shares of Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.23.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of DUK stock opened at $112.60 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $110.26 and its 200 day moving average is $112.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The firm has a market cap of $86.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.70, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.49. Duke Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $90.09 and a 52-week high of $121.25.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 EPS 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 company had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.94 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is currently 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.