Duke Energy Corporation $DUK Shares Sold by FineMark National Bank & Trust

FineMark National Bank & Trust reduced its stake in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 102,156 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 724 shares during the period. FineMark National Bank & Trust’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $12,055,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of DUK. Aspen Investment Management Inc raised its stake in Duke Energy by 9.2% during the second quarter. Aspen Investment Management Inc now owns 5,319 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $628,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the period. Traub Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at $164,000. Highview Capital Management LLC DE increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 8.2% during the 2nd quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 12,583 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,485,000 after buying an additional 950 shares during the last quarter. Greenland Capital Management LP raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 82.0% in the 2nd quarter. Greenland Capital Management LP now owns 171,574 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $20,246,000 after buying an additional 77,314 shares during the period. Finally, MainStreet Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the second quarter valued at $1,627,000. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Duke Energy stock opened at $123.88 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $96.33 billion, a PE ratio of 20.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.45. Duke Energy Corporation has a one year low of $105.20 and a one year high of $130.03. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $124.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $120.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.66.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $8.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.51 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.51% and a return on equity of 9.85%. Duke Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.62 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.065 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 14th. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 66.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on DUK. Scotiabank set a $137.00 price target on Duke Energy and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $131.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Monday, October 6th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $143.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $127.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $138.63.

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.