Childress Capital Advisors LLC Sells 144 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Childress Capital Advisors LLC reduced its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 4.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,075 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 144 shares during the period. Childress Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $331,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of DUK. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. CGC Financial Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 366.7% in the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 308 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC raised 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 purchasing an additional 243 shares during the period. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy during the third quarter worth $38,000. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DUK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. KeyCorp downgraded Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Mizuho raised shares of Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target 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. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.08.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of DUK opened at $113.21 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $110.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $112.57. The stock has a market cap of $87.45 billion, a PE ratio of 20.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.49. Duke Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $90.09 and a 1-year high of $121.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.45.

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). The business had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.06 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 9.34%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.94 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.91 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 3.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.