Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Sold by First City Capital Management Inc.

First City Capital Management Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,136 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 128 shares during the period. First City Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,200,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Centre Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Centre Asset Management LLC now owns 5,721 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $616,000 after buying an additional 408 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 17.4% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 11,575 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,247,000 after purchasing an additional 1,718 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 50.4% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,098 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $118,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares during the last quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 14.7% during the fourth quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division now owns 5,617 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $605,000 after buying an additional 722 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 4.1% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 960,178 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $110,709,000 after buying an additional 37,453 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. KeyCorp downgraded Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. 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 research note on Friday, November 22nd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Duke Energy in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $138.00 price target for the company. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.23.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DUK traded up $0.07 on Friday, reaching $107.89. 1,054,616 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,947,083. The company has a 50-day moving average of $111.95 and a 200-day moving average of $111.34. The firm has a market cap of $83.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 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 Co. has a 1-year low of $90.09 and a 1-year high of $121.25.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted 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 analysts’ expectations of $8.06 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 9.34%. The business’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.94 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were given a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.87%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.