Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC Trims Stock Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 35.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,472 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,029 shares during the quarter. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $631,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of DUK. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 11,471.4% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 6,777,973 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $781,500,000 after acquiring an additional 6,719,398 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 13,829.1% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,125,607 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $129,782,000 after buying an additional 1,117,526 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 65.7% during the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 2,052,969 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $205,769,000 after buying an additional 813,744 shares during the period. Wulff Hansen & CO. increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 9,923.0% during the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 769,265 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $77,103,000 after buying an additional 761,590 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 187.8% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 456,821 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $44,179,000 after buying an additional 298,117 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on DUK. KeyCorp lowered shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $138.00 price target on the stock. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $121.69.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.3 %

DUK stock opened at $117.42 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.58, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.47. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $115.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $110.09. 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 Co. has a 52 week low of $90.09 and a 52 week high of $121.25.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by ($0.11). Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 14.31%. The company had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.94 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.56%. 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.