First National Advisers LLC Sells 1,440 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

First National Advisers LLC decreased its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 13.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,376 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,440 shares during the quarter. First National Advisers LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,010,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Groupama Asset Managment bought a new stake in Duke Energy during the third quarter worth $2,537,000. Zimmer Partners LP bought a new stake in Duke Energy during the third quarter worth $166,263,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 155.1% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,873,321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $201,832,000 after buying an additional 1,138,979 shares in the last quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 116.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 2,065,344 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $222,520,000 after buying an additional 1,111,581 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 29.2% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,488,849 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $269,368,000 after buying an additional 561,784 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE DUK opened at $120.29 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.44. Duke Energy Co. has a one year low of $92.75 and a one year high of $121.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $93.40 billion, a PE ratio of 21.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $112.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $113.46.

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

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.48%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 73.20%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on DUK. Morgan Stanley decreased 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. Scotiabank boosted 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. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.93.

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.