Good Life Advisors LLC Sells 1,112 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Good Life Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 5.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 18,708 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,112 shares during the quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $2,016,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Alberta Investment Management Corp lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 45,600 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,913,000 after buying an additional 2,300 shares during the period. Pegasus Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Pegasus Asset Management Inc. now owns 34,559 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,723,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the period. Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. now owns 7,714 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $831,000 after buying an additional 392 shares during the period. Joel Adams & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $268,000. Finally, Plan Group Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. Plan Group Financial LLC now owns 9,104 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $981,000 after buying an additional 1,078 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Down 0.7 %

Duke Energy stock opened at $110.85 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $85.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.41, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.50. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $109.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $112.98. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $90.09 and a 12 month high of $121.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52.

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

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.77%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 73.20%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. KeyCorp cut Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Scotiabank raised their target price on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.08.

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.