Chemung Canal Trust Co. Reduces Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Chemung Canal Trust Co. cut its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 1.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,329 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 154 shares during the quarter. Chemung Canal Trust Co.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,386,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DUK. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 233.1% during the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 17,253 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,523,000 after buying an additional 12,073 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its position in Duke Energy by 30.5% during the third quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 88,933 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,849,000 after purchasing an additional 20,762 shares during the period. Teza Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Duke Energy by 220.4% during the third quarter. Teza Capital Management LLC now owns 28,475 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,513,000 after purchasing an additional 19,587 shares during the period. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy during the third quarter valued at $233,000. Finally, Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy during the third quarter valued at $2,074,000. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

In related news, Director E Marie Mckee sold 1,695 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.31, for a total transaction of $173,415.45. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $409.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Julia S. Janson sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.79, for a total value of $1,027,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 68,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,057,253.03. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director E Marie Mckee sold 1,695 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.31, for a total transaction of $173,415.45. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $409.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 26,695 shares of company stock valued at $2,750,815. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Down 0.4 %

DUK opened at $100.23 on Friday. Duke Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $83.06 and a twelve month high of $104.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $101.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $97.45. The company has a market cap of $77.35 billion, a PE ratio of 25.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.45.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a net margin of 10.78% and a return on equity of 9.25%. The firm had revenue of $7.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.20 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th were paid a dividend of $1.025 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $4.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.09%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 103.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DUK has been the subject of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 20th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $103.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 24th. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $107.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 20th. Finally, Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $101.00 to $94.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $102.33.

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.