FWG Holdings LLC Cuts Stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

FWG Holdings LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 11.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,695 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 355 shares during the period. FWG Holdings LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $315,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DUK. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 215.2% during the first quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 20,187 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,952,000 after acquiring an additional 13,783 shares during the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC increased its stake in Duke Energy by 65.0% during the 1st quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 6,379 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $617,000 after purchasing an additional 2,514 shares in the last quarter. Pitcairn Co. raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 5.8% in the first quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 6,927 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $670,000 after buying an additional 377 shares during the last quarter. Natixis acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the first quarter worth $28,653,000. Finally, MQS Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the first quarter valued at $353,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on DUK shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. 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 for the company. KeyCorp lowered Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $121.85.

Duke Energy Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE DUK opened at $113.57 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $87.73 billion, a PE ratio of 20.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. Duke Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $88.27 and a 12-month high of $121.25. The company has a 50-day moving average of $115.33 and a 200 day moving average of $109.43.

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

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.68%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 76.84%.

Duke Energy Company 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.