Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC Lowers Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC cut its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 18.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,154 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,424 shares during the quarter. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $663,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 11,471.4% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 6,777,973 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $781,500,000 after buying an additional 6,719,398 shares during the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the third quarter valued at about $2,537,000. Zimmer Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the third quarter valued at about $166,263,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 13,829.1% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,125,607 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $129,782,000 after buying an additional 1,117,526 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 65.7% during the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 2,052,969 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $205,769,000 after buying an additional 813,744 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on DUK shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Mizuho raised shares of Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley dropped 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 note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, KeyCorp cut shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.23.

Duke Energy Price Performance

DUK stock traded up $0.24 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $106.11. The stock had a trading volume of 1,069,853 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,822,981. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $111.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $111.79. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The company has a market cap of $81.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.47. 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 quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.06 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 14.31%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.94 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 76.84%.

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.