Hendershot Investments Inc. Sells 255 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Hendershot Investments Inc. decreased its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 5.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,805 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 255 shares during the period. Hendershot Investments Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $518,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. CGC Financial Services LLC increased its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 332.9% during the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 316 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter worth $38,000. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DUK has been the subject of several recent research reports. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective 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. Mizuho raised shares of Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $116.00 to $121.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, KeyCorp downgraded shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.08.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE DUK opened at $115.01 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $88.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.50. Duke Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $90.09 and a 12-month high of $121.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $109.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $112.72.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.06 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 9.34%. Duke Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.94 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.63%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.