Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Sold by Romano Brothers AND Company

Romano Brothers AND Company decreased its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 83,040 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 477 shares during the quarter. Duke Energy comprises about 1.1% of Romano Brothers AND Company’s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest position. Romano Brothers AND Company’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $8,947,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of DUK. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its stake in Duke Energy by 11,471.4% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 6,777,973 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $781,500,000 after purchasing an additional 6,719,398 shares during the period. Groupama Asset Managment purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the third quarter worth about $2,537,000. Zimmer Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the third quarter valued at about $166,263,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 155.1% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,873,321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $201,832,000 after buying an additional 1,138,979 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Duke Energy by 13,829.1% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,125,607 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $129,782,000 after acquiring an additional 1,117,526 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. KeyCorp cut shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Mizuho upgraded Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Scotiabank increased their target price on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.23.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.3 %

DUK stock opened at $109.34 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $110.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $111.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.45. Duke Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $90.09 and a 1-year high of $121.25. The firm has a market cap of $84.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.10, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.49.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 14.31%. The business had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.94 EPS. Duke Energy’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.94 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.82%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is currently 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.