Hanson & Doremus Investment Management Has $1.60 Million Stock Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Hanson & Doremus Investment Management trimmed its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 7.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,826 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,136 shares during the period. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,597,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 135,637 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $13,595,000 after acquiring an additional 3,115 shares during the last quarter. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the second quarter worth approximately $450,000. New Century Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the second quarter valued at approximately $216,000. KPP Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 9.0% during the second quarter. KPP Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,386 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $339,000 after buying an additional 280 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in Duke Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at $208,000. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Duke Energy Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $110.67 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $85.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.49. Duke Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $90.09 and a 52-week high of $121.25. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $110.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $112.46.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). The business had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.06 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 9.34%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.94 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.92 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.78%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 76.84%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley reduced 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 report on Friday, November 22nd. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Mizuho raised Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target 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 issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.23.

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.