Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Position Trimmed by CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd.

CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. lowered its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 10.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,015 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 241 shares during the period. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $217,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the third quarter valued at $29,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. CGC Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 366.7% during the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 308 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 332.9% in the fourth 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. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the third quarter worth approximately $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on DUK. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price 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. KeyCorp lowered Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Mizuho raised shares of Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.08.

Duke Energy Price Performance

NYSE DUK opened at $112.46 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $110.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $112.61. Duke Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $90.09 and a 12-month high of $121.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.87 billion, a PE ratio of 20.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) 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 in the prior year, the company posted $1.94 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.91 earnings per share 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.72%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is currently 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.