Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Sold by First County Bank CT

First County Bank CT cut its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 20.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,250 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 4,464 shares during the period. Duke Energy makes up approximately 1.0% of First County Bank CT’s holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest position. First County Bank CT’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,989,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the first quarter worth $36,000. CreativeOne Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 29.2% in the first quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 9,392 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $908,000 after acquiring an additional 2,120 shares in the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 8.7% during the first quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 24,645 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,383,000 after acquiring an additional 1,964 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 25.4% in the 1st quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 149,558 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $14,464,000 after purchasing an additional 30,273 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $114.86 on Friday. Duke Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $89.52 and a fifty-two week high of $121.25. The company has a market cap of $88.73 billion, a PE ratio of 21.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.47. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $115.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $109.59. 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 data on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.06 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 14.31%. Duke Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.94 EPS. Analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 76.84%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Duke Energy in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $138.00 target price for the company. 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. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price target on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Mizuho raised Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $121.85.

About Duke Energy

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.