CWS Financial Advisors LLC Sells 650 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

CWS Financial Advisors LLC trimmed its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 16.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,308 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 650 shares during the quarter. CWS Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $356,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Duke Energy by 35.0% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 50,308 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,834,000 after buying an additional 13,056 shares during the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors grew its stake in Duke Energy by 18.7% in the 3rd quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 11,089 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,279,000 after buying an additional 1,747 shares during the last quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Duke Energy by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 22,246 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,565,000 after buying an additional 593 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its stake in Duke Energy by 10.7% in the 3rd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 208,291 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $24,185,000 after buying an additional 20,183 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its stake in Duke Energy by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 89,685 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,340,000 after buying an additional 5,770 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $115.86 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $110.27 and a 200-day moving average of $113.03. Duke Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $90.09 and a 1-year high of $121.25. 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 company has a market cap of $89.50 billion, a PE ratio of 20.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.50.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.90% and a return on equity of 9.50%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.61%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 73.20%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on DUK shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Scotiabank increased 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $121.62.

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.