Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. Sells 2,516 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. lessened its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 3.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 75,566 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 2,516 shares during the quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc.'s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $8,141,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in DUK. PBMares Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. PBMares Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,886 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $563,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Castleview Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 4.9% during the third quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 1,944 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $224,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC raised its position in Duke Energy by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC now owns 6,591 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $760,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Duke Energy by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,730 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $315,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chicago Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 10,163 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,172,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Duke Energy Stock Performance

DUK traded up $0.28 on Friday, reaching $109.34. The company had a trading volume of 2,928,344 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,915,086. The company's fifty day moving average is $110.47 and its 200 day moving average is $111.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.70. The stock has a market cap of $84.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.49. Duke Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $90.09 and a fifty-two week high of $121.25.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.73 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.06 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 14.31%. Duke Energy's revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.94 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.