Sandy Spring Bank Has $737,000 Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Sandy Spring Bank lessened its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 11.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,838 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 916 shares during the period. Sandy Spring Bank’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $737,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bailard Inc. lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 31,921 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,439,000 after acquiring an additional 3,139 shares during the period. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC now owns 52,097 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,613,000 after buying an additional 2,705 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 25.7% during the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 35,755 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,852,000 after buying an additional 7,319 shares during the last quarter. First Business Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth $384,000. Finally, Pines Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth $1,032,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Price Performance

DUK opened at $119.01 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $92.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.84, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $114.16 and a 200 day moving average of $113.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.67. Duke Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $92.75 and a fifty-two week high of $121.47.

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

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on DUK. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Guggenheim upped their target price 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. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $123.87.

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.