Beech Hill Advisors Inc. Has $1.41 Million Stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Beech Hill Advisors Inc. cut its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 8.8% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 12,255 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,184 shares during the period. Beech Hill Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,413,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 17.4% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 10,637 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,032,000 after buying an additional 1,580 shares during the period. CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 8.1% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 40,411 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,908,000 after purchasing an additional 3,043 shares in the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy in the 1st quarter valued at about $41,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its stake in Duke Energy by 8.6% during the 1st quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 21,047 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,035,000 after buying an additional 1,659 shares during the period. Finally, Foster Group Inc. bought a new position in Duke Energy in the first quarter worth approximately $208,000. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. 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. Bank of America raised their target price on Duke Energy from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Duke Energy from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $121.85.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DUK opened at $119.80 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $114.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $106.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.46 billion, a PE ratio of 30.10, a P/E/G ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.46. Duke Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $85.79 and a twelve month high of $120.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $7.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.84 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.71% and a net margin of 14.29%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.91 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 105.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of Duke Energy 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 19,884 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,259,617.76. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.