Sanders Morris Harris LLC Sells 400 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Sanders Morris Harris LLC lessened its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 15.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,250 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 400 shares during the quarter. Sanders Morris Harris LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $244,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 29,389 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,166,000 after purchasing an additional 2,769 shares during the period. Winch Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 332.9% during the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 316 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the period. Smith Thornton Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Smith Thornton Advisors LLC now owns 6,732 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $725,000 after buying an additional 869 shares during the last quarter. RMR Wealth Builders increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 8.5% in the fourth quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 15,594 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,680,000 after buying an additional 1,222 shares during the period. Finally, Essex Savings Bank raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Essex Savings Bank now owns 7,782 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $838,000 after acquiring an additional 438 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

NYSE DUK opened at $106.44 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $110.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $111.87. Duke Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $90.09 and a 12-month high of $121.25. The company has a market cap of $82.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.57, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.49.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.06 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 14.31%. The company’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.94 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.93%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.84%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DUK has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Mizuho upgraded Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, KeyCorp cut Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.23.

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.