Summit Global Investments Sells 5,270 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Summit Global Investments cut its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 32.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,739 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 5,270 shares during the quarter. Summit Global Investments’ holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,157,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. United Bank boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 4,764 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $549,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter worth $2,719,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Duke Energy by 0.5% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 38,303 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,416,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI increased its position in Duke Energy by 2.6% in the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 8,503 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $980,000 after buying an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC increased its position in Duke Energy by 25.4% in the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 33,215 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,830,000 after buying an additional 6,724 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Scotiabank upped their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Guggenheim increased their target price on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $123.87.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $119.01 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $114.16 and a 200 day moving average of $113.67. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $92.75 and a 12 month high of $121.47. The firm has a market cap of $92.47 billion, a PE ratio of 20.84, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 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, research analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 73.20%.

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.