Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Sold by MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB

MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB decreased its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,596 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 188 shares during the quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $2,327,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the third quarter worth about $30,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 332.9% during the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 316 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the period. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Duke Energy by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 334 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on DUK. Morgan Stanley cut 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. Barclays lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. KeyCorp downgraded Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Scotiabank lifted 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, Mizuho upgraded Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.23.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.3 %

DUK opened at $109.34 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.49. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $110.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $112.05. Duke Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $90.09 and a 1-year 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.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.94 EPS. Analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 76.84%.

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.