TrinityPoint Wealth LLC Sells 17,364 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

TrinityPoint Wealth LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 60.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 11,252 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 17,364 shares during the quarter. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,212,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 31,353 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,378,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Intergy Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Intergy Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,113 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $228,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 7,233 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $779,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Cravens & Co Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Cravens & Co Advisors LLC now owns 2,624 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $283,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Missouri Trust & Investment Co raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 10.3% during the fourth quarter. Missouri Trust & Investment Co now owns 1,071 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $115,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on DUK shares. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $127.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $128.00 to $123.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $126.00.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of DUK opened at $116.27 on Friday. Duke Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $99.21 and a 1-year high of $125.27. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $119.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $114.55. The stock has a market cap of $90.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.44.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.17. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.90% and a return on equity of 9.50%. The firm had revenue of $8.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.44 earnings per share. Duke Energy’s revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.60%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.32%.

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.