Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Position Lessened by First National Trust Co

First National Trust Co reduced its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 2.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,412 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 354 shares during the quarter. First National Trust Co’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,892,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Duke Energy by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 70,675,702 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,835,047,000 after purchasing an additional 324,289 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,493,340 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,111,521,000 after buying an additional 352,320 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its position in Duke Energy by 11,471.4% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 6,777,973 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $781,500,000 after acquiring an additional 6,719,398 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Duke Energy by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,471,035 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $247,672,000 after acquiring an additional 40,243 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 65.7% in the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 2,052,969 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $205,769,000 after purchasing an additional 813,744 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Duke Energy Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE DUK opened at $111.89 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $86.40 billion, a PE ratio of 20.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.47. Duke Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $86.61 and a 1-year high of $121.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $115.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $108.97.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($0.11). Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 9.34%. The firm had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.94 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.74%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is presently 76.84%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on DUK shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Duke Energy in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $138.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $121.85.

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.