Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. Reduces Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. lowered its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,868 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 256 shares during the quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $792,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 9.4% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 108,819 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,520,000 after purchasing an additional 9,334 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 1st quarter worth about $61,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 15.4% in the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 207,862 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $19,916,000 after acquiring an additional 27,693 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Duke Energy by 64.4% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,185 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $804,000 after acquiring an additional 3,206 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 122.0% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,252 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $727,000 after acquiring an additional 3,985 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DUK opened at $117.12 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $115.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $110.18. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $90.47 billion, a PE ratio of 21.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.47. Duke Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $90.09 and a twelve month high of $121.25.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 9.34%. The business had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.94 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.57%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.84%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on DUK shares. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Mizuho raised shares of Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $121.69.

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.