Edgemoor Investment Advisors Inc. Sells 464 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Edgemoor Investment Advisors Inc. decreased its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 19.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,870 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 464 shares during the period. Edgemoor Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $201,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of DUK. Groupama Asset Managment purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter worth $2,537,000. Zimmer Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter worth $166,263,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 155.1% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,873,321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $201,832,000 after buying an additional 1,138,979 shares during the last quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 116.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 2,065,344 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $222,520,000 after buying an additional 1,111,581 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 29.2% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,488,849 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $269,368,000 after buying an additional 561,784 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Price Performance

NYSE:DUK opened at $120.29 on Monday. Duke Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $92.75 and a 52 week high of $121.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $112.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $113.46. The stock has a market cap of $93.40 billion, a PE ratio of 21.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48.

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

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.48%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 73.20%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DUK has been the topic of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Guggenheim lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Six 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, Duke Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.93.

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.