Associated Banc Corp Lowers Stock Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Associated Banc Corp reduced its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 14.2% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,871 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 808 shares during the period. Associated Banc Corp’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $562,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. PBMares Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Duke Energy by 1.8% during the third quarter. PBMares Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,886 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $563,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,425 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $444,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Castleview Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 4.9% during the 3rd 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 shares of Duke Energy by 1.4% during the third quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC now owns 6,591 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $760,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baron Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Duke Energy by 3.5% during the third quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,730 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $315,000 after purchasing an additional 92 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 research reports. Barclays increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. KeyCorp lowered shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Mizuho raised Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Six equities 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 has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $121.69.

Duke Energy Price Performance

NYSE DUK opened at $115.00 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $88.84 billion, a PE ratio of 21.14, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.47. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $115.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $109.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.70. Duke Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $90.09 and a twelve month high of $121.25.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 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 company had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.94 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 76.84%.

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.