NorthRock Partners LLC Reduces Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

NorthRock Partners LLC lessened its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 12.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,141 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 465 shares during the quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $362,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its stake in Duke Energy by 11,471.4% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 6,777,973 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $781,500,000 after buying an additional 6,719,398 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Duke Energy by 13,829.1% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,125,607 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $129,782,000 after buying an additional 1,117,526 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its stake in Duke Energy by 65.7% during the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 2,052,969 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $205,769,000 after buying an additional 813,744 shares during the last quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 9,923.0% in the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 769,265 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $77,103,000 after purchasing an additional 761,590 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BROOKFIELD Corp ON purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $36,278,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.64, for a total value of $61,365.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 19,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,259,617.76. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

NYSE DUK opened at $114.08 on Wednesday. Duke Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $86.61 and a fifty-two week high of $121.25. The stock has a market cap of $88.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.47. The business has a fifty day moving average of $115.87 and a 200-day moving average of $108.57. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $7.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.84 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.71% and a net margin of 14.29%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.91 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 76.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on DUK shares. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. KeyCorp downgraded Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Mizuho upgraded Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently 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.