Hengehold Capital Management LLC Lowers Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Hengehold Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 6,688 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 184 shares during the quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $721,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy in the third quarter worth about $29,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 332.9% in the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 316 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the period. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy in the third quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 100.0% during the third quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 334 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DUK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. KeyCorp lowered Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Mizuho upgraded Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.23.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DUK opened at $109.37 on Friday. 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 Co. has a twelve month low of $90.09 and a twelve month high of $121.25. The company’s 50 day moving average is $110.33 and its 200 day moving average is $112.17. The company has a market cap of $84.48 billion, a PE ratio of 20.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.49.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analysts’ expectations of $8.06 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 14.31%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.94 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.92 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s 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.