Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Reduces Stock Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lowered its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 31.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 253,966 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 118,885 shares during the quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $27,362,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Parkworth Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1,500.0% during the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CGC Financial Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 366.7% during 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DUK opened at $119.01 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.67. The company has a market cap of $92.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $114.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $113.69. Duke Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $92.75 and a 52-week high of $121.47.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.90% and a return on equity of 9.50%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.51%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.20%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.87.

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.