Stifel Financial Corp Sells 60,268 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Stifel Financial Corp decreased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 7.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 705,490 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 60,268 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp owned about 0.09% of Duke Energy worth $81,343,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of DUK. CX Institutional raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 5.9% in the second quarter. CX Institutional now owns 3,135 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $314,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 6.5% in the second quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 1,706 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $171,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank raised its position in Duke Energy by 8.4% in the 2nd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 147,067 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $14,741,000 after purchasing an additional 11,409 shares during the last quarter. Coastline Trust Co bought a new position in Duke Energy in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $201,000. Finally, Verum Partners LLC raised its position in Duke Energy by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter. Verum Partners LLC now owns 4,162 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $417,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DUK has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $138.00 price objective for the company. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. KeyCorp lowered shares of Duke Energy from an "overweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $121.69.

Duke Energy Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of DUK stock traded down $1.91 on Friday, hitting $112.10. The stock had a trading volume of 2,808,968 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,039,885. Duke Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $90.09 and a twelve month high of $121.25. The firm has a market cap of $86.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.61, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $114.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $110.59.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.06 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 9.34%. The company's revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.94 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.73%. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 76.84%.

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.