Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Position Trimmed by Community Bank of Raymore

Community Bank of Raymore reduced its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 12.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,690 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,055 shares during the quarter. Community Bank of Raymore’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $829,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy in the third quarter worth $29,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 332.9% during the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 316 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the period. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 100.0% during the third quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 334 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

DUK stock opened at $109.34 on Monday. Duke Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $90.09 and a 52 week high of $121.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.70. The stock has a market cap of $84.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.49. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $110.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $111.97.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $8.16 billion during 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 company’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.94 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.82%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 76.84%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Mizuho upgraded shares of Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.23.

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.