Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Sold by Clearstead Trust LLC

Clearstead Trust LLC lowered its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 4.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 3,337 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 172 shares during the quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $360,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in DUK. Picton Mahoney Asset Management increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 54.7% in the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 5,002 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $539,000 after purchasing an additional 1,768 shares during the last quarter. Analyst IMS Investment Management Services Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 22.9% in the fourth quarter. Analyst IMS Investment Management Services Ltd. now owns 2,367 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $255,000 after purchasing an additional 441 shares during the last quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 136.4% in the fourth quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 117,100 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $12,616,000 after purchasing an additional 67,570 shares during the last quarter. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $130,000. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 585,298 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $63,060,000 after purchasing an additional 7,060 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley cut 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, Guggenheim raised their target price on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.93.

Duke Energy Trading Up 1.8 %

DUK opened at $120.29 on Friday. Duke Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $92.75 and a 52 week high of $121.25. The firm has a market cap of $93.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $112.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $113.45.

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

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.48%. 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.