Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC Cuts Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC lessened its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 2.0% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 416,068 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 8,410 shares during the period. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $47,973,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. Cinctive Capital Management LP lifted its position in Duke Energy by 17.6% in the 3rd quarter. Cinctive Capital Management LP now owns 114,864 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $13,244,000 after buying an additional 17,229 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 2.2% during the third quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. now owns 45,232 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,215,000 after acquiring an additional 985 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 173,616.7% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 41,692 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,807,000 after purchasing an additional 41,668 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $210,000. Finally, Paradigm Capital Management LLC NV purchased a new position in Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter worth $758,000. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Trading Down 1.6 %

NYSE DUK opened at $115.17 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $115.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $110.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The stock has a market cap of $88.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.17, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.47. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $90.09 and a 12 month high of $121.25.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.06 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 9.34%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.94 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 76.84%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on DUK. KeyCorp downgraded Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $121.69.

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.