Lake Street Private Wealth LLC Cuts Stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Lake Street Private Wealth LLC lessened its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 21.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,442 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 925 shares during the quarter. Lake Street Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $371,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 332.9% in the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 316 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the third quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Duke Energy by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 334 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

NYSE DUK opened at $109.34 on Friday. Duke Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $90.09 and a fifty-two week high of $121.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.10, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.49. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $110.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $111.88.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by ($0.11). The company 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%. The company’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.94 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.82%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 76.84%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on DUK shares. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target 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. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Mizuho upgraded Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $116.00 to $121.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.23.

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.