Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Sold by Saxony Capital Management LLC

Saxony Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 14.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,193 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 694 shares during the quarter. Saxony Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $452,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. New Century Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 2nd quarter worth about $216,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $12,749,000. Centaurus Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 5,302 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $531,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the period. Alternative Investment Advisors LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $201,000. Finally, Norman Fields Gottscho Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $215,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DUK has been the subject of several research reports. KeyCorp cut Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Mizuho raised Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.23.

Duke Energy Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of DUK stock opened at $112.28 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $110.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $112.44. Duke Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $90.09 and a 12-month high of $121.25. The firm has a market cap of $86.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.49.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted 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 return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 14.31%. 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 company posted $1.94 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given 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 3.72%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 76.84%.

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.