Meridian Financial LLC Sells 250 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Meridian Financial LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 11.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,956 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 250 shares during the period. Meridian Financial LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $211,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in Duke Energy in the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Duke Energy by 332.9% during the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 316 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 334 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on DUK. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Mizuho raised shares of Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.23.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of DUK stock opened at $109.34 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $84.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.49. 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 one year low of $90.09 and a one year high of $121.25. The company’s 50-day moving average is $110.47 and its 200 day moving average is $111.88.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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). The firm had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.06 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 9.34%. Duke Energy’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.94 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

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 paid a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.