Moors & Cabot Inc. Sells 1,600 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Moors & Cabot Inc. reduced its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 3.1% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 49,444 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,600 shares during the period. Moors & Cabot Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $5,701,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of DUK. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 6.3% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 44,365 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,115,000 after purchasing an additional 2,622 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 38,303 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,416,000 after buying an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Commerce Bank grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 269,217 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,041,000 after buying an additional 15,069 shares during the period. Strategy Asset Managers LLC increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC now owns 34,791 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,011,000 after acquiring an additional 1,597 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,719,000. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

DUK traded down $0.41 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $113.17. 513,840 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,066,444. The stock has a market capitalization of $87.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.47. Duke Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $88.73 and a 52-week high of $121.25. 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 company’s fifty day moving average price is $115.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $109.53.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm 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 earned $1.94 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 76.84%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on DUK. Barclays raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Mizuho raised shares of Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $121.85.

About Duke Energy

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.