Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Sold by Coston McIsaac & Partners

Coston McIsaac & Partners trimmed its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 27.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 828 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 311 shares during the period. Coston McIsaac & Partners’ holdings in Duke Energy were worth $89,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC now owns 52,097 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,613,000 after acquiring an additional 2,705 shares in the last quarter. CCM Investment Advisers LLC increased its stake in Duke Energy by 24.3% during the fourth quarter. CCM Investment Advisers LLC now owns 83,610 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,008,000 after purchasing an additional 16,356 shares during the last quarter. Pines Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth $1,032,000. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 296,463 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,941,000 after acquiring an additional 9,070 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Corundum Group Inc. bought a new stake in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $1,566,000. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Duke Energy Stock Down 0.6 %

DUK stock opened at $110.67 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $110.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $112.46. Duke Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $90.09 and a 52-week 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $85.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.49.

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 analysts’ expectations of $8.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.94 EPS. Duke Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.92 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.78%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 76.84%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on DUK. Scotiabank lifted 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. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on 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. KeyCorp lowered Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Mizuho upgraded shares of Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.