Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Sold by Clarity Financial LLC

Clarity Financial LLC decreased its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 16.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 151,548 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 29,958 shares during the period. Duke Energy comprises about 2.0% of Clarity Financial LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Clarity Financial LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $16,328,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy in the third quarter worth about $30,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 332.9% in the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 316 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the period. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 100.0% in the 3rd 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. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on DUK. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Scotiabank upped their target price 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. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on 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. Finally, Mizuho upgraded Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.23.

Duke Energy Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of DUK stock opened at $112.28 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $110.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $112.45. Duke Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $90.09 and a fifty-two week high of $121.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.64, a P/E/G 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.

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

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $1.045 per share. 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 3.72%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.84%.

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.