Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Holdings Lowered by Radnor Capital Management LLC

Radnor Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 22.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,503 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,200 shares during the quarter. Radnor Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $808,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 86.5% in the fourth quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 148,703 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $16,021,000 after acquiring an additional 68,977 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 22.7% in the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 2,166 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $233,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its position in Duke Energy by 48.9% during the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 62,259 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,708,000 after purchasing an additional 20,442 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Duke Energy by 155.1% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,873,321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $201,832,000 after purchasing an additional 1,138,979 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 33.6% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 13,131 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,415,000 after buying an additional 3,305 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on DUK shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Mizuho upgraded shares of Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $116.00 to $121.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.23.

Duke Energy Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of DUK stock opened at $106.39 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $82.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.56, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.70. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $110.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $111.87. Duke Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $90.09 and a twelve month high of $121.25.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by ($0.11). Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 14.31%. The firm had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.94 earnings per share. Duke Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.95 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.93%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is presently 76.84%.

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.