Financial Partners Group LLC Cuts Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Financial Partners Group LLC cut its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 11.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,431 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 868 shares during the quarter. Financial Partners Group LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $742,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cross Staff Investments Inc boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Cross Staff Investments Inc now owns 6,781 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $782,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the third quarter valued at about $245,000. Tectonic Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 13.8% during the third quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 53,850 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,209,000 after buying an additional 6,522 shares in the last quarter. Dakota Wealth Management grew its position in Duke Energy by 8.2% during the third quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 23,418 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,700,000 after buying an additional 1,781 shares during the period. Finally, apricus wealth LLC increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 5.2% in the third quarter. apricus wealth LLC now owns 19,886 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,293,000 after buying an additional 983 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Duke Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $121.85.

Duke Energy Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $119.01 on Friday. Duke Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $86.61 and a fifty-two week high of $121.25. The business’s fifty day moving average is $115.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $107.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56. The firm has a market cap of $91.85 billion, a PE ratio of 29.90, a P/E/G ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.46.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $7.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.84 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.71% and a net margin of 14.29%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.91 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.51%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 105.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy

In related news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.64, for a total value of $61,365.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,259,617.76. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Duke Energy 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.