Rockland Trust Co. Trims Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Rockland Trust Co. reduced its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 32.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,373 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,156 shares during the quarter. Rockland Trust Co.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $256,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 33.6% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 13,131 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,415,000 after purchasing an additional 3,305 shares in the last quarter. Pines Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $1,032,000. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Duke Energy by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,975 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $644,000 after buying an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $291,000. Finally, Grandview Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Grandview Asset Management LLC now owns 14,049 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,514,000 after acquiring an additional 783 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased 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. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $138.00 price objective on the stock. KeyCorp cut Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Mizuho upgraded Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company 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 assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.23.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $106.39 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $82.18 billion, a PE ratio of 19.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.49. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $110.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $111.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. Duke Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $90.09 and a 12-month high of $121.25.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 EPS 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 business had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.94 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.95 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 3.93%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is presently 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.