Steph & Co. Sells 252 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Steph & Co. lessened its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,790 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 252 shares during the period. Steph & Co.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $947,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. PBMares Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. PBMares Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,886 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $563,000 after buying an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Castleview Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 4.9% during the third quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 1,944 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $224,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 1.4% in the third quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC now owns 6,591 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $760,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. Baron Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Duke Energy by 3.5% in the third quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,730 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $315,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chicago Capital LLC increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 10,163 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,172,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on DUK. Mizuho raised Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $138.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target 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. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, KeyCorp cut Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Duke Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.23.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of DUK opened at $106.39 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.70. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $110.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $111.87. The stock has a market cap of $82.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.49. Duke Energy Co. has a one year low of $90.09 and a one year high of $121.25.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 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 firm had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.94 EPS. Duke Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.94 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.93%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.