Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Position Increased by WASHINGTON TRUST Co

WASHINGTON TRUST Co grew its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 7.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,531 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 503 shares during the period. WASHINGTON TRUST Co’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $731,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 13.9% in the fourth quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,826 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $274,000 after buying an additional 344 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 28.6% during the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,023 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $355,000 after acquiring an additional 894 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 25,824 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,545,000 after buying an additional 1,122 shares in the last quarter. Adviser Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $304,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,918,910 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $698,923,000 after acquiring an additional 144,612 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.57, for a total value of $277,710.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,213 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,315,697.41. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

DUK stock traded up $0.57 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $96.66. 707,949 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,118,440. Duke Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $83.06 and a 1-year high of $100.39. The firm has a market cap of $74.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.15, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.46. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $94.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $92.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.49.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by ($0.02). Duke Energy had a net margin of 9.78% and a return on equity of 8.93%. The business had revenue of $7.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.24 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.11 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 18th. Investors of record on Friday, February 16th were paid a $1.025 dividend. This represents a $4.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.24%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is currently 115.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on DUK shares. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Duke Energy from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $101.00 to $113.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Duke Energy from $98.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 29th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Duke Energy from $103.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Evercore ISI raised Duke Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $90.00 to $108.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. Finally, Bank of America cut Duke Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $105.00 to $96.00 in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $100.00.

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.