Ancora Advisors LLC Sells 167 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Ancora Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,348 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 167 shares during the period. Ancora Advisors LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $899,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of DUK. Bcwm LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $9,815,000. Bailard Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 31,921 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,439,000 after purchasing an additional 3,139 shares during the last quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC increased its position in Duke Energy by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC now owns 52,097 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,613,000 after purchasing an additional 2,705 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 25.7% in the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 35,755 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,852,000 after purchasing an additional 7,319 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Business Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $384,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DUK has been the subject of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Barclays upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Guggenheim raised 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. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.87.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $120.70 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $119.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $114.53. Duke Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $99.21 and a 1-year high of $125.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. The company has a market cap of $93.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.14, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.39.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.50% and a net margin of 14.90%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.46%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 73.20%.

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.