Sanders Morris Harris LLC Sells 400 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Sanders Morris Harris LLC lessened its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 15.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,250 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 400 shares during the period. Sanders Morris Harris LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $244,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 15.2% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,816,758 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $182,101,000 after buying an additional 240,136 shares during the last quarter. One Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $426,000. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 17.7% during the 2nd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 8,287 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $831,000 after purchasing an additional 1,247 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,147,000. Finally, Axxcess Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 8.1% during the second quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 29,510 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,958,000 after purchasing an additional 2,223 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DUK has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Mizuho raised Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. KeyCorp downgraded Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $138.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased 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, November 22nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.23.

Duke Energy Price Performance

DUK stock opened at $106.44 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $110.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $111.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $90.09 and a 12 month high of $121.25. The firm has a market cap of $82.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.49.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.94 earnings per share. Duke Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.93%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 76.84%.

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.