Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Position Trimmed by Cypress Capital Group

Cypress Capital Group reduced its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 23.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 19,620 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 6,015 shares during the period. Cypress Capital Group's holdings in Duke Energy were worth $2,114,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 2.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,488,176 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,016,846,000 after purchasing an additional 442,302 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,562,545 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $922,529,000 after purchasing an additional 135,665 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 0.3% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 2,290,641 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $264,111,000 after purchasing an additional 6,500 shares during the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the third quarter worth about $2,537,000. Finally, Capital Wealth Planning LLC lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 116.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 2,065,344 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $222,520,000 after purchasing an additional 1,111,581 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on DUK. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective 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. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $122.57.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DUK traded up $1.94 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $116.78. 3,479,247 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,428,490. Duke Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $92.75 and a fifty-two week high of $121.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The firm has a market cap of $90.68 billion, a PE ratio of 20.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $111.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $113.25.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy's payout ratio is 73.20%.

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.