Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Sold by Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC

Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 6.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,787 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $300,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 334 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 82.7% during the 3rd quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 360 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on DUK shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. KeyCorp cut shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Duke Energy in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $138.00 price objective on the stock. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.23.

Duke Energy Stock Down 2.1 %

Duke Energy stock traded down $2.23 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $106.00. 1,520,772 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,860,974. 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $111.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $111.59. The firm has a market cap of $81.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.49. Duke Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $90.09 and a 1 year high of $121.25.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.94 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.94%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 76.84%.

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.