Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Stock Holdings Decreased by Cullen Capital Management LLC

Cullen Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,141,529 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 51,362 shares during the quarter. Duke Energy makes up 2.6% of Cullen Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Cullen Capital Management LLC owned about 0.28% of Duke Energy worth $230,728,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Bcwm LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $9,815,000. Bailard Inc. increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 31,921 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,439,000 after acquiring an additional 3,139 shares during the period. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC now owns 52,097 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,613,000 after acquiring an additional 2,705 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in Duke Energy by 25.7% in the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 35,755 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,852,000 after purchasing an additional 7,319 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Business Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in Duke Energy during the 4th quarter worth $384,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DUK has been the topic of several research reports. Guggenheim raised their price target on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $123.87.

Duke Energy Stock Down 4.1 %

DUK stock opened at $118.91 on Friday. 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 $92.75 and a 52 week high of $125.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $92.40 billion, a PE ratio of 20.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.39. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $116.33 and a 200 day moving average of $113.88.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.50% and a net margin of 14.90%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.52%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 73.20%.

Duke Energy 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.