Hudson Value Partners LLC Sells 210 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Hudson Value Partners LLC cut its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 4.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 5,040 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 210 shares during the period. Hudson Value Partners LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $543,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of DUK. Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. now owns 7,714 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $831,000 after purchasing an additional 392 shares during the period. Joel Adams & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $268,000. Plan Group Financial LLC boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. Plan Group Financial LLC now owns 9,104 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $981,000 after acquiring an additional 1,078 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $93,000. Finally, Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 25,001 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,694,000 after purchasing an additional 2,144 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on DUK. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. KeyCorp lowered Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.08.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

DUK opened at $110.85 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $85.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.41, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.50. Duke Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $90.09 and a 1-year high of $121.25. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $109.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $112.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.44.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.90% and a return on equity of 9.50%. Equities analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.77%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is presently 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.