Global Retirement Partners LLC Cuts Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Global Retirement Partners LLC cut its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 31,316 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 604 shares during the quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $3,374,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Plan Group Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. Plan Group Financial LLC now owns 9,104 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $981,000 after acquiring an additional 1,078 shares during the period. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new position in Duke Energy during the 4th quarter worth $93,000. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund grew its stake in Duke Energy by 9.4% during the 4th quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 25,001 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,694,000 after buying an additional 2,144 shares during the last quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors grew its stake in Duke Energy by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors now owns 5,541 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $597,000 after buying an additional 416 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bfsg LLC grew its stake in Duke Energy by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 11,549 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,244,000 after buying an additional 1,032 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on DUK shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price 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. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.08.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of DUK stock opened at $111.78 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $86.34 billion, a PE ratio of 19.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.50. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $109.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $112.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. Duke Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $90.09 and a 52-week high of $121.25.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.74%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 73.20%.

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.