Geneos Wealth Management Inc. Trims Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Geneos Wealth Management Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 53,087 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,032 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $5,720,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC now owns 52,097 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,613,000 after acquiring an additional 2,705 shares during the period. Goodman Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,888,000. CCM Investment Advisers LLC grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 24.3% during the 4th quarter. CCM Investment Advisers LLC now owns 83,610 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,008,000 after purchasing an additional 16,356 shares in the last quarter. Pines Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth $1,032,000. Finally, Corundum Group Inc. bought a new stake in Duke Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $1,566,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Price Performance

DUK opened at $109.86 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $110.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $112.21. The firm has a market cap of $84.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.20, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.49. Duke Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $90.09 and a 1 year high of $121.25.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.06 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 14.31%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.94 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.80%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is presently 76.84%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on DUK shares. Scotiabank raised their price target on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Mizuho raised Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Duke Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.23.

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.