Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Stake Lessened by Verdence Capital Advisors LLC

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 29.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,253 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 6,247 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,759,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its position in Duke Energy by 11,471.4% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 6,777,973 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $781,500,000 after buying an additional 6,719,398 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Duke Energy by 13,829.1% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,125,607 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $129,782,000 after buying an additional 1,117,526 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its position in Duke Energy by 65.7% in the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 2,052,969 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $205,769,000 after buying an additional 813,744 shares during the last quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. boosted its position in Duke Energy by 9,923.0% in the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 769,265 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $77,103,000 after buying an additional 761,590 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BROOKFIELD Corp ON acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 1st quarter valued at about $36,278,000. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:DUK traded up $2.15 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $113.23. The stock had a trading volume of 3,788,549 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,321,600. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $115.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $108.81. Duke Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $86.61 and a 1-year high of $121.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.81, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.81.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($0.11). Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.29% and a return on equity of 9.71%. The firm had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.94 EPS. Duke Energy's revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.98 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.69%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.84%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Mizuho upgraded shares of Duke Energy from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their target price for the company from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $121.85.

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.