First PREMIER Bank Sells 505 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

First PREMIER Bank decreased its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 61,570 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 505 shares during the quarter. Duke Energy comprises 1.7% of First PREMIER Bank’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. First PREMIER Bank’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $6,633,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of DUK. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC increased its position in Duke Energy by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC now owns 52,097 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,613,000 after purchasing an additional 2,705 shares during the last quarter. Goodman Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 2nd quarter worth about $2,888,000. CCM Investment Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 24.3% in the 4th quarter. CCM Investment Advisers LLC now owns 83,610 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,008,000 after acquiring an additional 16,356 shares during the last quarter. Pines Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $1,032,000. Finally, Hilltop Holdings Inc. increased its stake in Duke Energy by 59.2% during the third quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 23,388 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,697,000 after acquiring an additional 8,699 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Duke Energy Trading Down 1.7 %

DUK opened at $108.86 on Thursday. Duke Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $90.09 and a 52 week high of $121.25. The company has a market capitalization of $84.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.01, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.49. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $110.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $112.19. 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 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 return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 14.31%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.94 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 3.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 76.84%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on DUK. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Barclays increased their target price 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. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Mizuho raised shares of Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.23.

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.