Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC Reduces Stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC lowered its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 4.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,694 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 220 shares during the period. Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $541,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Square LLC boosted its position in Duke Energy by 6.6% in the third quarter. Capital Square LLC now owns 9,462 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,091,000 after buying an additional 586 shares during the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC boosted its position in Duke Energy by 14.7% in the third quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 2,683 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $309,000 after buying an additional 344 shares during the last quarter. DRW Securities LLC boosted its position in Duke Energy by 2,604.9% in the third quarter. DRW Securities LLC now owns 104,870 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $12,092,000 after buying an additional 100,993 shares during the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance boosted its position in Duke Energy by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 117,798 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $13,582,000 after purchasing an additional 1,024 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd boosted its position in Duke Energy by 1,258.1% in the 3rd quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 49,341 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,689,000 after purchasing an additional 45,708 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of DUK stock opened at $117.05 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $115.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $109.98. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $90.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.52, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.47. Duke Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $90.09 and a fifty-two week high of $121.25.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.06 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 9.34%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.94 EPS. Research analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders 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 yield of 3.57%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is currently 76.84%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on DUK. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Mizuho upgraded Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. KeyCorp lowered Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $121.69.

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.