Cascade Investment Group Inc. Trims Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Cascade Investment Group Inc. decreased its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 5.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,010 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 160 shares during the quarter. Cascade Investment Group Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $324,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 332.9% during the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 316 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the third quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 100.0% in the third 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 last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of DUK stock opened at $109.34 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $110.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $111.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.70. Duke Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $90.09 and a 52-week high of $121.25.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by ($0.11). Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 14.31%. The company had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.94 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.94 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, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.82%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 76.84%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DUK has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Mizuho raised shares of Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, KeyCorp downgraded shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.23.

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.