Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Sold by Costello Asset Management INC

Costello Asset Management INC reduced its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 33.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 4,459 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,200 shares during the period. Costello Asset Management INC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $480,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC now owns 52,097 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,613,000 after purchasing an additional 2,705 shares during the last quarter. CCM Investment Advisers LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 24.3% in the fourth quarter. CCM Investment Advisers LLC now owns 83,610 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,008,000 after buying an additional 16,356 shares during the last quarter. Pines Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,032,000. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 296,463 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,941,000 after acquiring an additional 9,070 shares during the period. Finally, Corundum Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,566,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $112.14 on Friday. Duke Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $90.09 and a 1-year high of $121.25. 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 $86.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.49. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $110.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $112.49.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued 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 net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 9.34%. The company had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.94 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.73%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 76.84%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DUK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Mizuho upgraded Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley reduced 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, November 22nd. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.23.

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.