Westover Capital Advisors LLC Decreases Stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Westover Capital Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. Westover Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $215,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bailard Inc. lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 31,921 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,439,000 after acquiring an additional 3,139 shares during the period. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC increased its stake in Duke Energy by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC now owns 52,097 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,613,000 after purchasing an additional 2,705 shares in the last quarter. Pines Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth $1,032,000. CCM Investment Advisers LLC grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 24.3% in the fourth quarter. CCM Investment Advisers LLC now owns 83,610 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,008,000 after purchasing an additional 16,356 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position 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 buying an additional 9,070 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Scotiabank increased their target price on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $121.62.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DUK opened at $116.46 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $89.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.50. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $111.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $113.19. Duke Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $92.33 and a 52 week high of $121.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52.

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

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

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 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 3.59%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.20%.

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.