AMG National Trust Bank Sells 8,300 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

AMG National Trust Bank lowered its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 31.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,306 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 8,300 shares during the quarter. AMG National Trust Bank’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $2,111,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. PBMares Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 1.8% in the third quarter. PBMares Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,886 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $563,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,425 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $444,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Castleview Partners LLC boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 4.9% during the third quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 1,944 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $224,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Duke Energy by 1.4% in the third quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC now owns 6,591 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $760,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chicago Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 0.9% during the third quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 10,163 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,172,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on DUK shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Duke Energy from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $121.85.

Duke Energy Price Performance

NYSE DUK opened at $113.57 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $115.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $109.43. Duke Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $88.27 and a 52 week high of $121.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The company has a market cap of $87.73 billion, a PE ratio of 20.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.47.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released 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 business 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.94 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.68%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 76.84%.

Duke Energy Company 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.