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

Cassia Capital Partners LLC reduced its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 7,283 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 535 shares during the quarter. Duke Energy makes up approximately 0.6% of Cassia Capital Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Cassia Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $840,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of DUK. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 17.4% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 10,637 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,032,000 after purchasing an additional 1,580 shares in the last quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. AdvisorNet Financial Inc raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 72.6% during the 1st quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 3,699 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $358,000 after buying an additional 1,556 shares during the period. Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 1st quarter valued at about $4,683,000. Finally, CGN Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 7.8% during the 1st quarter. CGN Advisors LLC now owns 22,402 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,167,000 after buying an additional 1,629 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on DUK. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Duke Energy in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $138.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $121.85.

Insider Transactions at Duke Energy

In other news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.64, for a total transaction of $61,365.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,259,617.76. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of DUK traded down $0.65 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $120.11. The stock had a trading volume of 999,270 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,045,169. Duke Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $85.79 and a 52 week high of $121.25. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average price is $115.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $106.82. The company has a market capitalization of $92.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.26, a P/E/G ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.46.

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

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.48%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 105.03%.

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.