River Road Asset Management LLC Sells 18,312 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

River Road Asset Management LLC reduced its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 16.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 94,284 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 18,312 shares during the quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $10,158,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. United Bank raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 2.7% during the third quarter. United Bank now owns 4,764 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $549,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 31.0% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 410 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $237,000. Tyler Stone Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 83.2% in the third quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management now owns 2,588 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $298,000 after purchasing an additional 1,175 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 23.8% during the third quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 4,505 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $519,000 after buying an additional 865 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Duke Energy Price Performance

DUK stock opened at $117.76 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $112.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $113.34. Duke Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $92.75 and a 12-month high of $121.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. The firm has a market cap of $91.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.62, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.50% and a net margin of 14.90%. On average, analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.55%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is presently 73.20%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DUK has been the topic of several research reports. Guggenheim boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.93.

Duke Energy Company Profile

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.