Eliot Finkel Investment Counsel LLC Reduces Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Eliot Finkel Investment Counsel LLC lowered its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 0.9% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 49,854 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 430 shares during the period. Duke Energy comprises approximately 3.5% of Eliot Finkel Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest position. Eliot Finkel Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $5,748,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Duke Energy by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 435,157 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,084,000 after buying an additional 13,406 shares during the last quarter. Duality Advisers LP increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 57.8% in the first quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 27,071 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,618,000 after buying an additional 9,917 shares in the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 63.8% during the 1st quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 44,710 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,324,000 after acquiring an additional 17,420 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 9.4% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 108,819 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,520,000 after acquiring an additional 9,334 shares during the period. Finally, Goodman Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,888,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on DUK. Bank of America boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their target price on Duke Energy from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $121.85.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:DUK opened at $120.76 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.20 billion, a PE ratio of 30.34, a P/E/G ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.46. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $85.79 and a 12 month high of $120.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The business has a 50-day moving average of $115.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of $106.67.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.16. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.29% and a return on equity of 9.71%. The firm had revenue of $7.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.91 earnings per share. Duke Energy’s revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.46%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 105.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy

In other news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.64, for a total value of $61,365.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 19,884 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,259,617.76. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.