Kovack Advisors Inc. Cuts Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Kovack Advisors Inc. reduced its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 8,399 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 582 shares during the period. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $968,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its position 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 valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy during the second quarter worth $30,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy during the third quarter valued at $30,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 101.2% in the first quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 336 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the period. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the first quarter worth about $36,000. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on DUK. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. KeyCorp cut shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays increased their target price 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. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $121.85.

Duke Energy Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE DUK opened at $111.27 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $85.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.45, a P/E/G ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.47. 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 company has a 50 day simple moving average of $115.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $109.07. Duke Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $88.27 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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($0.11). Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 14.31%. The business had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.06 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.94 EPS. Duke Energy’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

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