Premier Fund Managers Ltd Sells 5,000 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Premier Fund Managers Ltd cut its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 14.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 5,000 shares during the period. Premier Fund Managers Ltd’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $3,232,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of DUK. United Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 2.7% in the third quarter. United Bank now owns 4,764 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $549,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Cadence Bank lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 4.5% in the third quarter. Cadence Bank now owns 8,688 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,002,000 after acquiring an additional 371 shares during the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC increased its position in Duke Energy by 55.9% during the third quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 9,739 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,123,000 after buying an additional 3,492 shares during the last quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Duke Energy by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 37,745 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,352,000 after acquiring an additional 293 shares during the period. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its position in Duke Energy by 3.0% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 134,802 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $15,543,000 after purchasing an additional 3,900 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of DUK stock opened at $117.67 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.61, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $114.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $113.71. 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 earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.90% and a return on equity of 9.50%. Equities research analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is presently 73.20%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on DUK shares. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Seven research 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 company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $123.87.

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.