Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Stock Position Reduced by Corient Private Wealth LLC

Corient Private Wealth LLC lowered its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 0.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 319,733 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 498 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $34,448,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. Parkworth Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy during the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 1,500.0% during the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 270 shares during the period. Finally, CGC Financial Services LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 366.7% during the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 308 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Guggenheim raised their target price on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price target 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. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.93.

Duke Energy Price Performance

DUK opened at $120.88 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. The stock has a market cap of $93.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $113.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $113.52. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $92.75 and a 12 month high of $121.47.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.50% and a net margin of 14.90%. On average, research analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.46%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is currently 73.20%.

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.