Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Sold by Phocas Financial Corp.

Phocas Financial Corp. decreased its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK – Get Rating) by 23.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,358 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,353 shares during the quarter. Phocas Financial Corp.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $449,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 124.8% during the third quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 299 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the period. Clear Perspectives Financial Planning LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 1,138.5% during the third quarter. Clear Perspectives Financial Planning LLC now owns 322 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares during the period. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Fairfield Bush & CO. acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.22% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy

In other Duke Energy news, SVP Louis E. Renjel sold 1,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.90, for a total value of $189,810.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,967 shares in the company, valued at approximately $995,703.30. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on DUK. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $107.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 4th. Mizuho boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $103.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 10th. StockNews.com began coverage on Duke Energy in a report on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Duke Energy from $108.00 to $105.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 22nd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $106.64.

Duke Energy Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of DUK opened at $96.39 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.70. Duke Energy Co. has a one year low of $83.76 and a one year high of $116.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.03, a PEG ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.42. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $99.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $98.95.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 9th. The utilities provider reported $1.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $7.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.27 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 8.45% and a net margin of 9.11%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.94 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 17th were issued a $1.005 dividend. This represents a $4.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.17%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 16th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is currently 121.08%.

Duke Energy Profile

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Duke Energy Corp. engages in the distribution of natural gas and energy related services. It operates through the following segments: Electric Utilities and Infrastructure, Gas Utilities & Infrastructure and Commercial Renewables. The Electric Utilities and Infrastructure segment conducts operations in regulated electric utilities in the Carolinas, Florida and the Midwest.