Visionary Horizons LLC Trims Stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Visionary Horizons LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 5.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 8,003 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 456 shares during the period. Duke Energy comprises 0.6% of Visionary Horizons LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Visionary Horizons LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $862,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of DUK stock opened at $115.01 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 quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.70. The firm has a market cap of $88.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.14, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.50. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $109.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $112.72.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 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 analyst estimates of $8.06 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 14.31%. The company’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 5.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.63%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 76.84%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DUK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. KeyCorp cut Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. 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, Mizuho upgraded shares of Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $116.00 to $121.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.08.

Duke Energy 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.