Aigen Investment Management LP Trims Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Aigen Investment Management LP lessened its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 39.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,593 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 7,430 shares during the period. Aigen Investment Management LP’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,249,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of DUK. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. CGC Financial Services LLC increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 366.7% during the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 308 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 332.9% during the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 316 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on DUK. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. 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. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price 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. 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.57.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $115.26 on Thursday. Duke Energy Co. has a one year low of $92.75 and a one year high of $121.25. The company has a market cap of $89.49 billion, a PE ratio of 20.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.67. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $111.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $113.21.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share 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%. On average, equities research analysts forecast 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. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 73.20%.

Duke Energy Company 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.