Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Position Reduced by ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. lowered its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 6.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 13,062 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 835 shares during the quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,407,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. King Luther Capital Management Corp increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 14.8% in the 2nd quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 15,190 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,522,000 after purchasing an additional 1,958 shares during the period. AE Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Duke Energy by 17.4% in the 2nd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 40,171 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,026,000 after buying an additional 5,957 shares during the period. Summit Trail Advisors LLC lifted its position in Duke Energy by 39.6% in the 2nd quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 7,606 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $762,000 after buying an additional 2,156 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 10.0% during the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 112,051 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $11,231,000 after acquiring an additional 10,162 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 160,042.9% in the second quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 11,210 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,124,000 after acquiring an additional 11,203 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 research analysts have commented on DUK shares. Barclays boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of 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. Mizuho upgraded shares of 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 note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Six investment 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 has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.23.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:DUK opened at $109.34 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.70. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $110.47 and its 200-day moving average is $112.05. The company has a market cap of $84.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.49. Duke Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $90.09 and a 52-week high of $121.25.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released 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 business had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.06 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.94 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.82%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.