Camden National Bank Lowers Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Camden National Bank decreased its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 74,730 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 518 shares during the period. Camden National Bank’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $8,051,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Baron Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 3.5% during the third quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,730 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $315,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 31,353 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,378,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the period. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,456 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $372,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. Intergy Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Intergy Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,113 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $228,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 7,233 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $779,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DUK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Scotiabank upped their target price on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Guggenheim increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective 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. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.57.

Duke Energy Price Performance

NYSE DUK opened at $116.78 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $111.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $113.25. Duke Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $92.75 and a 1 year high of $121.25. The company has a market cap of $90.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.45, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.50% and a net margin of 14.90%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 73.20%.

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.