Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Sold by Great Valley Advisor Group Inc.

Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,553 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 93 shares during the period. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,448,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 69.6% in the second quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 290 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Olistico Wealth LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Sachetta LLC grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 41.9% during the 2nd quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. 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 report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Mizuho raised shares of Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Six investment 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.com, Duke Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $121.69.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.3 %

DUK opened at $115.00 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $115.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $109.88. 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 stock has a market cap of $88.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.14, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.47. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $90.09 and a 12 month high of $121.25.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.06 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 9.34%. Duke Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.94 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued 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 3.63%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 76.84%.

Duke Energy 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.