CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. Decreases Stock Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. reduced its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 10.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,015 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 241 shares during the period. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $217,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in DUK. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. CGC Financial Services LLC grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 366.7% during the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 308 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 332.9% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the third quarter worth about $38,000. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Mizuho upgraded Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley reduced 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 report on Friday, November 22nd. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. KeyCorp downgraded Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.08.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DUK opened at $112.46 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $110.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $112.61. The stock has a market cap of $86.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.50. 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 fifty-two week low of $90.09 and a fifty-two week high of $121.25.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued 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). Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 14.31%. The company had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.94 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.91 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.72%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.