Arbor Investment Advisors LLC Cuts Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Arbor Investment Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 63.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 4,075 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 7,066 shares during the quarter. Arbor Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $439,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of DUK. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its position in Duke Energy by 11,471.4% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 6,777,973 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $781,500,000 after acquiring an additional 6,719,398 shares in the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the third quarter valued at $2,537,000. Zimmer Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the third quarter valued at $166,263,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 155.1% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,873,321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $201,832,000 after buying an additional 1,138,979 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 13,829.1% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,125,607 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $129,782,000 after buying an additional 1,117,526 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE:DUK opened at $115.58 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $110.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $113.01. 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 Co. has a 12-month low of $90.09 and a 12-month high of $121.25. The firm has a market cap of $89.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.24, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.50.

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

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company 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. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 73.20%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on DUK. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock 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 seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $121.62.

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.