Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Sold by Citizens Business Bank

Citizens Business Bank cut its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 25.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,413 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,508 shares during the period. Citizens Business Bank’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $509,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. lifted its position in Duke Energy by 25.0% in the second quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 12,646 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,268,000 after buying an additional 2,532 shares during the last quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 31.5% in the 2nd quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 1,253 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $126,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 7.1% during the 2nd quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,760 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,279,000 after purchasing an additional 842 shares during the period. AdvisorNet Financial Inc increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 30.4% in the 2nd quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 4,822 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $483,000 after purchasing an additional 1,123 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Duke Energy in the second quarter valued at approximately $208,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on DUK. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price target on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $121.69.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:DUK opened at $111.14 on Wednesday. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $90.09 and a 12 month high of $121.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $85.85 billion, a PE ratio of 20.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.47. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $114.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $110.71.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its 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 business 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 was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.94 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.76%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.