MetLife Investment Management LLC Decreases Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

MetLife Investment Management LLC cut its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 2.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 200,734 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 5,117 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $23,145,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 9.4% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 108,819 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,520,000 after buying an additional 9,334 shares in the last quarter. Goodman Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,888,000. PrairieView Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $501,000. Commerce Bank boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 5.9% during the third 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. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1,258.1% in the third quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 49,341 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,689,000 after buying an additional 45,708 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on DUK. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $138.00 target price for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $121.69.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of DUK stock opened at $117.41 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $115.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $110.03. 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 $90.70 billion, a PE ratio of 21.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.47. Duke Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $90.09 and a 52-week high of $121.25.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.94 EPS. Duke Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 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.