Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Sold by LPL Financial LLC

LPL Financial LLC reduced its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,572,402 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 53,588 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $181,298,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tradewinds LLC. raised its stake in Duke Energy by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Tradewinds LLC. now owns 25,267 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,913,000 after purchasing an additional 291 shares during the last quarter. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 6.8% during the third quarter. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department now owns 29,353 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,384,000 after acquiring an additional 1,866 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 25.4% during the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 33,215 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,830,000 after acquiring an additional 6,724 shares during the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 2.6% during the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 8,503 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $980,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 2.0% during the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,906 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,373,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Duke Energy Stock Up 1.0 %

Duke Energy stock opened at $114.86 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $115.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $109.59. Duke Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $89.52 and a 1-year high of $121.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $88.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 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 for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.94 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $1.045 dividend. 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 currently 76.84%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on DUK. KeyCorp cut shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $138.00 target price on the stock. Mizuho upgraded Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.