New Mexico Educational Retirement Board Decreases Stock Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

New Mexico Educational Retirement Board reduced its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 36,760 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,000 shares during the period. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $3,961,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 62.4% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 33,877 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,650,000 after buying an additional 13,013 shares during the period. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new position in Duke Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $369,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its position in Duke Energy by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 7,233 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $779,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its stake in Duke Energy by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 41,994 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,524,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bogart Wealth LLC lifted its position in Duke Energy by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 96,031 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,346,000 after acquiring an additional 1,117 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. KeyCorp lowered shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. 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 report on Friday, November 22nd. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Duke Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.08.

Duke Energy Stock Down 2.0 %

NYSE:DUK opened at $111.69 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.70. The company has a market capitalization of $86.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.50. Duke Energy Co. has a one year low of $90.09 and a one year high of $121.25. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $109.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $112.94.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 9.34%. Sell-side analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given 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 3.74%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.84%.

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.