Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. Decreases Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. decreased its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 42,444 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 887 shares during the quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $4,573,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC now owns 52,097 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,613,000 after purchasing an additional 2,705 shares during the last quarter. Goodman Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy in the 2nd quarter worth about $2,888,000. CCM Investment Advisers LLC lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 24.3% during the 4th quarter. CCM Investment Advisers LLC now owns 83,610 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,008,000 after acquiring an additional 16,356 shares during the period. Pines Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,032,000. Finally, Hilltop Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 59.2% during the third quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 23,388 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,697,000 after purchasing an additional 8,699 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Duke Energy Price Performance

NYSE:DUK opened at $108.86 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $84.09 billion, a PE ratio of 20.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.49. 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 business’s 50-day simple moving average is $110.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $112.19. Duke Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $90.09 and a 52 week high of $121.25.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly 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). Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 14.31%. The business had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.94 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.84%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.84%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. 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 report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price 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. KeyCorp downgraded Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Mizuho upgraded shares of Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased 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 shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.23.

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.