Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Sold by Verum Partners LLC

Verum Partners LLC lowered its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 3.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,972 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 154 shares during the period. Verum Partners LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $428,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy during the third quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 100.0% in the third quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 334 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho upgraded Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Morgan Stanley dropped 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. KeyCorp lowered Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their target price 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. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.23.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

DUK stock opened at $110.73 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $110.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $112.12. Duke Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $90.09 and a 52 week high of $121.25. The stock has a market cap of $85.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 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 (NYSE:DUK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share (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 last year, the business earned $1.94 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.77%. Duke Energy’s dividend 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.