Morton Community Bank Sells 205 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Morton Community Bank lowered its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 33,247 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 205 shares during the quarter. Morton Community Bank’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $3,833,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 69.6% during the second quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 290 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Olistico Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Sachetta LLC increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 41.9% during the second quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Duke Energy in the third quarter worth approximately $38,000. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Down 0.3 %

DUK opened at $117.05 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.70. Duke Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $90.09 and a fifty-two week high of $121.25. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $115.18 and its 200 day moving average is $110.24. The stock has a market cap of $90.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.47.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $8.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.94 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.57%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 76.84%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $138.00 target price on the stock. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $121.69.

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.