Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Sold by Verus Capital Partners LLC

Verus Capital Partners LLC lowered its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 4.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,754 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 132 shares during the period. Verus Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $317,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of DUK. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in Duke Energy by 11.7% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 13,524 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,308,000 after acquiring an additional 1,420 shares during the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 11,141 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,077,000 after purchasing an additional 339 shares in the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 4,702 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $455,000 after buying an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 6.7% during the 1st quarter. Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 9,721 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $933,000 after buying an additional 607 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Twin Tree Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the first quarter worth $45,000. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on DUK shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Mizuho raised Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $121.85.

Duke Energy Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of DUK stock opened at $111.27 on Thursday. Duke Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $88.27 and a fifty-two week high of $121.25. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $115.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $109.07. The stock has a market cap of $85.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.06 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 9.34%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.94 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

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 given a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.84%.

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.