Colonial River Investments LLC Sells 156 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Colonial River Investments LLC trimmed its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 5.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,487 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 156 shares during the quarter. Colonial River Investments LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $268,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in DUK. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. CGC Financial Services LLC raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 366.7% during the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 308 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 332.9% during the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 316 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Duke Energy Price Performance

DUK opened at $115.86 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.50. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $110.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $113.03. Duke Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $90.09 and a 52-week high of $121.25.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.90% and a return on equity of 9.50%. As a group, analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 73.20%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DUK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $121.62.

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.