Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Sold by Silver Oak Securities Incorporated

Silver Oak Securities Incorporated trimmed its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,894 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 215 shares during the quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,281,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of DUK. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,488,176 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,016,846,000 after buying an additional 442,302 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 11,471.4% in 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 acquiring an additional 6,719,398 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank boosted its position in Duke Energy by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 2,290,641 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $264,111,000 after purchasing an additional 6,500 shares in the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,537,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 155.1% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,873,321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $201,832,000 after purchasing an additional 1,138,979 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.5 %

DUK opened at $114.43 on Friday. 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’s 50 day simple moving average is $109.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $112.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $88.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.50. Duke Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $90.09 and a 1-year high of $121.25.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($0.11). Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 9.34%. The company had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.94 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.65%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 76.84%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on DUK. KeyCorp cut shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Mizuho upgraded Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target 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, Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.08.

Duke Energy 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.