Hilltop National Bank Sells 118 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Hilltop National Bank trimmed its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 5.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,218 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 118 shares during the quarter. Hilltop National Bank’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $239,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 2.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,488,176 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,016,846,000 after buying an additional 442,302 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 11,471.4% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 6,777,973 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $781,500,000 after buying an additional 6,719,398 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1.7% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,471,035 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $247,672,000 after buying an additional 40,243 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 0.3% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 2,290,641 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $264,111,000 after buying an additional 6,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Groupama Asset Managment bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the third quarter worth $2,537,000. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DUK opened at $105.93 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $111.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $111.62. Duke Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $90.09 and a 1-year high of $121.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $81.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.94 EPS. Duke Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is presently 76.84%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on DUK. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. KeyCorp lowered shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $138.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.23.

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.