Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Sold by Nicolet Advisory Services LLC

Nicolet Advisory Services LLC cut its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 13.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,290 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 494 shares during the period. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $381,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of DUK. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 69.6% in the second quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 290 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the period. Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the third quarter worth about $30,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the first quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Sachetta LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 41.9% in the second quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DUK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Mizuho raised Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. 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 research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Duke Energy in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $138.00 price objective for the company. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $121.69.

Duke Energy Trading Down 0.1 %

Duke Energy stock opened at $114.70 on Friday. Duke Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $89.92 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 firm has a market capitalization of $88.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.08, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.47. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $115.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $109.74.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.06 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 14.31%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.94 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share 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. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.