Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Sells 6,247 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC cut its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 29.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,253 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 6,247 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,759,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. PBMares Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. PBMares Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,886 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $563,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Duke Energy by 2.1% in the second quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,425 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $444,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Castleview Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 1,944 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $224,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Kanawha Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC now owns 6,591 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $760,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. Finally, Chicago Capital LLC grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 0.9% during the third quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 10,163 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,172,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Duke Energy Stock Up 1.9 %

DUK opened at $113.23 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $115.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $108.73. Duke Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $86.61 and a 52 week high of $121.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56. The stock has a market cap of $87.44 billion, a PE ratio of 20.85, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.47.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.06 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.29% and a return on equity of 9.71%. Duke Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.94 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 76.98%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock 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 given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $121.85.

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.