Camden National Bank Cuts Stock Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Camden National Bank lowered its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 0.5% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 75,248 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 369 shares during the quarter. Camden National Bank’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $8,676,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of DUK. PBMares Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 1.8% during the third quarter. PBMares Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,886 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $563,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 2.1% in the second quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,425 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $444,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Castleview Partners LLC raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 4.9% in 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 raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baron Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings 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 valued at $315,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:DUK opened at $114.70 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $115.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $109.69. Duke Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $89.92 and a 1-year high of $121.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The firm has a market cap of $88.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.47.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share 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 last year, the business earned $1.94 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly 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 Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.64%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 76.84%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DUK has been the topic of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Mizuho upgraded shares of Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $121.69.

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.