Banco Santander S.A. Sells 3,560 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Banco Santander S.A. lessened its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 33.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,133 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,560 shares during the period. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $822,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 8.7% during the 1st quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 24,645 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,383,000 after acquiring an additional 1,964 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy during the 1st quarter worth $65,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 25.4% in the 1st quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 149,558 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $14,464,000 after purchasing an additional 30,273 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1.4% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,203,916 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $116,431,000 after purchasing an additional 16,735 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Duke Energy in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $138.00 price objective for the company. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $121.69.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of DUK stock opened at $114.70 on Friday. 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 Co. has a 52 week low of $89.92 and a 52 week high of $121.25. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $115.14 and a 200-day moving average of $109.69. The company has a market cap of $88.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.47.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $8.06 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 9.34%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.94 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.64%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is currently 76.84%.

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.