True Vision MN LLC Sells 442 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

True Vision MN LLC trimmed its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,727 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 442 shares during the quarter. True Vision MN LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $545,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CreativeOne Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 55.9% during the 3rd quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 9,739 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,123,000 after buying an additional 3,492 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its position in Duke Energy by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 114,592 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $13,213,000 after acquiring an additional 604 shares during the period. Cadence Bank boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 4.5% during the third quarter. Cadence Bank now owns 8,688 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,002,000 after acquiring an additional 371 shares in the last quarter. Avestar Capital LLC grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 4.7% in the third quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 4,061 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $468,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the period. Finally, Covington Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 0.6% during the third quarter. Covington Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 49,688 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,729,000 after purchasing an additional 286 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on DUK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Duke Energy in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $138.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced 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 note on Friday, November 22nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Duke Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $121.69.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Duke Energy stock traded up $0.80 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $117.84. 73,127 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,060,423. 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 Co. has a 12 month low of $90.09 and a 12 month high of $121.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.47. The business has a 50 day moving average of $115.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $109.98.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly 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). The firm had revenue of $8.16 billion during 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%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.94 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.55%. 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.