GQG Partners LLC Decreases Stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

GQG Partners LLC lessened its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 98.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 57,005 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 4,336,659 shares during the quarter. GQG Partners LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $6,142,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Princeton Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 7.9% in the fourth quarter. Princeton Capital Management LLC now owns 4,598 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $495,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares in the last quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Duke Energy by 16.6% during the fourth quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,460 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,209,000 after purchasing an additional 1,491 shares during the last quarter. CoreFirst Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter worth $73,000. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 58.1% in the 4th quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 10,167 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,089,000 after buying an additional 3,737 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,047,000. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $118.12 on Tuesday. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $92.75 and a 12 month high of $121.47. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $114.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $113.66. The firm has a market cap of $91.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 EPS 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, equities research analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.54%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 73.20%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DUK has been the topic of several analyst reports. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Scotiabank lifted 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 note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy 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.