Amalgamated Bank Sells 1,216 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Amalgamated Bank lessened its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 154,678 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,216 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $17,834,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Clarity Financial LLC increased its stake in Duke Energy by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter. Clarity Financial LLC now owns 181,506 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $20,928,000 after acquiring an additional 12,688 shares during the last quarter. United Advisor Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $294,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 334 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 2,026 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $235,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 15.8% in the 3rd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 132,562 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $15,284,000 after purchasing an additional 18,123 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.64, for a total transaction of $61,365.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 19,884 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,259,617.76. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:DUK opened at $112.52 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $115.83 and its 200 day moving average is $108.46. 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 $86.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.72, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.53.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.16. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.71% and a net margin of 14.29%. The company had revenue of $7.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.84 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.91 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 76.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on DUK. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. KeyCorp cut Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $121.85.

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.