Wasatch Advisors LP Sells 11,024 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Wasatch Advisors LP reduced its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 16.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 56,176 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 11,024 shares during the quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP's holdings in Duke Energy were worth $6,477,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in DUK. Goodman Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the second quarter worth $2,888,000. Commerce Bank increased its position in Duke Energy by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 269,217 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $31,041,000 after acquiring an additional 15,069 shares in the last quarter. PrairieView Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the second quarter worth about $501,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1,258.1% during the third quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 49,341 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $5,689,000 after purchasing an additional 45,708 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 158.9% in the third quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC now owns 8,483 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $978,000 after purchasing an additional 5,206 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Duke Energy Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of Duke Energy stock traded down $0.37 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $117.05. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,899,450 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,218,331. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $90.09 and a 12 month high of $121.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The company has a market capitalization of $90.42 billion, a PE ratio of 21.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.47. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $115.18 and a 200 day moving average of $110.29.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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). Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 9.34%. The company had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.94 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.57%. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 76.84%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on DUK shares. Barclays increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $138.00 target price on the stock. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $135.00 target price on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $121.69.

Duke Energy Company 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.