Reaves W H & Co. Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Reaves W H & Co. Inc. trimmed its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 87.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,215 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 48,335 shares during the quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $777,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of DUK. Groupama Asset Managment purchased a new position in Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,537,000. Zimmer Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $166,263,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 155.1% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,873,321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $201,832,000 after buying an additional 1,138,979 shares during the last quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 116.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 2,065,344 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $222,520,000 after buying an additional 1,111,581 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brookfield Corp ON increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 112.6% during the 3rd quarter. Brookfield Corp ON now owns 1,002,811 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $115,624,000 after buying an additional 531,073 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on DUK shares. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Scotiabank raised their price target 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. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $121.62.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:DUK opened at $118.62 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $111.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $113.16. The company has a market cap of $91.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. Duke Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $90.22 and a 52 week high of $121.25.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.90% and a return on equity of 9.50%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

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 given a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.52%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.20%.

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.