Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 1.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,294 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 188 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $2,353,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Mattson Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Parkworth Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Duke Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its position in Duke Energy by 1,500.0% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $126.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $127.00 price objective (up from $126.00) on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Citigroup lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $130.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Duke Energy from $127.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $125.81.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of DUK opened at $116.27 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.44. Duke Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $99.21 and a 12-month high of $125.27. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $118.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $114.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.37 billion, a PE ratio of 20.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.37.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $8.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.70 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.90% and a return on equity of 9.50%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.44 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.32%.

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.