Retirement Systems of Alabama Trims Stock Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Retirement Systems of Alabama trimmed its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 167,250 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,699 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $18,020,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. CGC Financial Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 366.7% in the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 308 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 332.9% during the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 316 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the period. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Duke Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DUK has been the subject of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets raised 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 raised Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. 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 report on Thursday, December 12th. KeyCorp cut shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target 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. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.08.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE:DUK opened at $114.43 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.70. Duke Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $90.09 and a 1 year high of $121.25. The stock has a market cap of $88.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.50. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $109.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $112.66.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($0.11). The company 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.94 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business 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 dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.65%. 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.