Equitable Trust Co. Decreases Stock Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Equitable Trust Co. trimmed its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 25,319 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 516 shares during the quarter. Equitable Trust Co.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $2,728,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 2,705 shares in the last quarter. CCM Investment Advisers LLC increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 24.3% during the 4th quarter. CCM Investment Advisers LLC now owns 83,610 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,008,000 after buying an additional 16,356 shares during the last quarter. Pines Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,032,000. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 296,463 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,941,000 after buying an additional 9,070 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Corundum Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,566,000. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DUK has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. 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. Mizuho upgraded shares of Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley dropped 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 report on Friday, November 22nd. 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.08.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of DUK stock opened at $115.01 on Monday. 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 52 week low of $90.09 and a 52 week high of $121.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $88.85 billion, a PE ratio of 21.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.50. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $109.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $112.76.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.06 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 14.31%. Duke Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.94 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.91 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.63%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.