Evermay Wealth Management LLC Decreases Stock Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Evermay Wealth Management LLC trimmed its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,872 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 197 shares during the quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,254,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Edge Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Duke Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $554,000. WestEnd Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 0.6% during the third quarter. WestEnd Advisors LLC now owns 392,287 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $45,231,000 after buying an additional 2,443 shares during the period. Golden State Equity Partners boosted its position in Duke Energy by 24.8% during the 3rd quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 4,599 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $530,000 after acquiring an additional 915 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 11,471.4% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 6,777,973 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $781,500,000 after buying an additional 6,719,398 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valmark Advisers Inc. grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 9,769 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,126,000 after buying an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.64, for a total transaction of $61,365.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 19,884 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,259,617.76. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $138.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Duke Energy from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Seven 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 presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $121.85.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

NYSE DUK traded down $0.37 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $114.04. The company had a trading volume of 415,068 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,027,560. The business has a 50 day moving average of $115.74 and a 200-day moving average of $107.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.81. Duke Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $86.61 and a 1-year high of $121.25. The company has a market cap of $88.06 billion, a PE ratio of 21.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.46.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.16. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.29% and a return on equity of 9.71%. The business had revenue of $7.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.91 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.67%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 76.98%.

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.