Bull Street Advisors LLC Sells 140 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Bull Street Advisors LLC decreased its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,938 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 140 shares during the quarter. Bull Street Advisors LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,609,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 62.4% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 33,877 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,650,000 after acquiring an additional 13,013 shares in the last quarter. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $369,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 7,233 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $779,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 41,994 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,524,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bogart Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 96,031 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,346,000 after buying an additional 1,117 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:DUK opened at $111.69 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $86.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.53, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.50. Duke Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $90.09 and a 1-year high of $121.25. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $109.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $112.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.45.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 9.34%. On average, research analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.74%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 76.84%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. KeyCorp cut Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Scotiabank raised their target price on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.08.

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.