Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC Cuts Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC reduced its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 44,983 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,322 shares during the quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $4,869,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC now owns 52,097 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,613,000 after acquiring an additional 2,705 shares during the last quarter. CCM Investment Advisers LLC boosted its position in Duke Energy by 24.3% during the 4th quarter. CCM Investment Advisers LLC now owns 83,610 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,008,000 after acquiring an additional 16,356 shares in the last quarter. Pines Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $1,032,000. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 296,463 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,941,000 after buying an additional 9,070 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Corundum Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,566,000. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DUK opened at $112.14 on Friday. Duke Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $90.09 and a 52 week high of $121.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $110.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $112.44.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($0.11). Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 9.34%. The firm had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.94 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given 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 yield of 3.73%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 76.84%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on DUK. KeyCorp downgraded Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Mizuho raised Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.