Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. Sells 378 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 16,409 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 378 shares during the period. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,768,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its position in Duke Energy by 8.6% in the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 35,368 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,545,000 after buying an additional 2,814 shares during the period. Bridges Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Duke Energy by 132.8% during the second quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,655 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $567,000 after acquiring an additional 3,226 shares during the period. King Luther Capital Management Corp raised its stake in Duke Energy by 14.8% during the 2nd quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 15,190 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,522,000 after purchasing an additional 1,958 shares during the last quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 17.4% in the 2nd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 40,171 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,026,000 after purchasing an additional 5,957 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Trail Advisors LLC grew its position in Duke Energy by 39.6% in the 2nd quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 7,606 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $762,000 after purchasing an additional 2,156 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $109.34 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.49. Duke Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $90.09 and a 12-month high of $121.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $110.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $111.97.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.06 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 9.34%. The business’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.94 EPS. Research analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.82%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 76.84%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DUK has been the subject of several research reports. KeyCorp cut shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Scotiabank upped their target price on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Mizuho upgraded shares of Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.23.

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.