Forsta AP Fonden Has $27.10 Million Stock Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Forsta AP Fonden cut its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 251,500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,600 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $27,097,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,848 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $967,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $455,000. Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 21.2% in the fourth quarter. Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC now owns 5,351 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $577,000 after purchasing an additional 936 shares during the period. Baker Boyer National Bank lifted its position in Duke Energy by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Baker Boyer National Bank now owns 3,179 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $343,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the period. Finally, Orca Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $1,350,000. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 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. KeyCorp lowered shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.23.

Duke Energy Trading Down 1.1 %

NYSE DUK opened at $111.42 on Wednesday. Duke Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $90.09 and a 52 week high of $121.25. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $110.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $112.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The company has a market cap of $86.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.49.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 analyst estimates of $8.06 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 14.31%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.94 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 76.84%.

About Duke Energy

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.