Boston Research & Management Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Boston Research & Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 45,962 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 158 shares during the period. Boston Research & Management Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $4,951,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bailard Inc. boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 31,921 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,439,000 after purchasing an additional 3,139 shares during the period. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC lifted its holdings 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 worth $5,613,000 after buying an additional 2,705 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 25.7% during the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 35,755 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,852,000 after acquiring an additional 7,319 shares during the last quarter. First Business Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $384,000. Finally, Pines Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter worth $1,032,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on DUK shares. UBS Group lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Duke Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.87.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

DUK stock opened at $119.42 on Monday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $115.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $113.68. 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 $92.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.91, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48. Duke Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $92.75 and a twelve month high of $121.47.

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

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 73.20%.

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.