Sabal Trust CO Reduces Position in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK)

Sabal Trust CO decreased its holdings in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 1.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 222,325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,328 shares during the period. Duke Energy accounts for about 1.5% of Sabal Trust CO’s holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Sabal Trust CO’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $27,117,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of DUK. Bcwm LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $9,815,000. Bailard Inc. lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 31,921 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,439,000 after purchasing an additional 3,139 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 25.7% in the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 35,755 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,852,000 after purchasing an additional 7,319 shares during the period. First Business Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $384,000. Finally, Alley Investment Management Company LLC increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 36.4% in the fourth quarter. Alley Investment Management Company LLC now owns 76,477 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,240,000 after purchasing an additional 20,414 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on DUK. Guggenheim boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $127.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $130.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $125.00 to $124.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $126.94.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $115.99 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.37. Duke Energy Corporation has a one year low of $99.21 and a one year high of $125.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.50. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $117.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $114.98.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $8.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.70 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.40% and a return on equity of 9.88%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.44 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th were given a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.60%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 69.32%.

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.