Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Sold by Continuum Advisory LLC

Continuum Advisory LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,928 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 364 shares during the quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $767,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in DUK. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 7.2% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 466,368 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $46,744,000 after buying an additional 31,211 shares in the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 25.0% during the second quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 12,646 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,268,000 after purchasing an additional 2,532 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 2.7% during the second quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 6,793 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $681,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 27.6% in the 2nd quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,386 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $440,000 after purchasing an additional 948 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 31.5% in the 2nd quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 1,253 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $126,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of DUK stock opened at $111.88 on Tuesday. Duke Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $90.09 and a 1-year high of $121.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $114.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $110.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.43 billion, a PE ratio of 20.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.47.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.94 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on DUK. Barclays boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Thursday, August 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. 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 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.