Horizon Investment Services LLC Decreases Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Horizon Investment Services LLC trimmed its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 30.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,811 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,208 shares during the period. Horizon Investment Services LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $303,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,885,939 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,852,731,000 after acquiring an additional 779,054 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 2.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,488,176 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,016,846,000 after purchasing an additional 442,302 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,562,545 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $922,529,000 after buying an additional 135,665 shares in the last quarter. Amundi boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 29.2% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,488,849 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $269,368,000 after buying an additional 561,784 shares during the period. Finally, Groupama Asset Managment bought a new stake in Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $2,537,000. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Duke Energy Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of DUK opened at $119.42 on Friday. Duke Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $92.75 and a fifty-two week high of $121.47. The firm has a market cap of $92.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.91, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $115.17 and a 200-day moving average price of $113.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.67.

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

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 73.20%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on DUK shares. Guggenheim lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group raised 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, February 21st. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $123.87.

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.