Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Sold by Physicians Financial Services Inc.

Physicians Financial Services Inc. lowered its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 3.5% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 19,521 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 699 shares during the quarter. Physicians Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $2,251,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. PBMares Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. PBMares Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,886 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $563,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 2.1% in the second quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,425 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $444,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Castleview Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 4.9% during the third quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 1,944 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $224,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC increased its position in Duke Energy by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC now owns 6,591 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $760,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chicago Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 10,163 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,172,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Up 1.7 %

NYSE:DUK traded up $1.92 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $113.00. The stock had a trading volume of 316,534 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,047,021. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $115.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $108.61. Duke Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $86.61 and a 1-year high of $121.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56. The company has a market cap of $87.26 billion, a PE ratio of 20.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.47.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly 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 firm 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 9.71% and a net margin of 14.29%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.94 EPS. Analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.98 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders 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 3.70%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 76.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on DUK. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Barclays increased 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. Mizuho raised Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped 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. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $121.85.

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.