Meridian Financial LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Meridian Financial LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 11.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,956 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 250 shares during the quarter. Meridian Financial LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $211,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ieq Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 8.3% during the 2nd quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 48,588 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,870,000 after acquiring an additional 3,713 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 8.6% during the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 35,368 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,545,000 after purchasing an additional 2,814 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its position in Duke Energy by 8.0% in the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,351,527 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $135,464,000 after buying an additional 100,000 shares in the last quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 132.8% in the second quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,655 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $567,000 after buying an additional 3,226 shares during the period. Finally, King Luther Capital Management Corp lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 14.8% during the 2nd quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 15,190 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,522,000 after buying an additional 1,958 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on DUK. Morgan Stanley reduced 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. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Mizuho raised Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $116.00 to $121.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Duke Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.23.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.3 %

NYSE DUK opened at $109.34 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $110.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $111.88. Duke Energy Co. has a one year low of $90.09 and a one year high of $121.25. The company has a market capitalization of $84.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.70.

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). Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 14.31%. The business had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.94 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.82%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 76.84%.

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.