Graham Capital Management L.P. Sells 41,691 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Graham Capital Management L.P. decreased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 55.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 33,740 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 41,691 shares during the quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $3,635,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Graver Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $215,000. Focus Partners Wealth raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 11.2% during the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 704,423 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $76,086,000 after acquiring an additional 71,211 shares during the last quarter. Ethic Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 69.1% during the fourth quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 9,594 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,034,000 after purchasing an additional 3,919 shares during the period. Fiduciary Trust Co grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co now owns 11,287 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,216,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Manhattan CO. LLC. increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 52.3% in the fourth quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC. now owns 17,102 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,006,000 after purchasing an additional 5,871 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on DUK shares. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Guggenheim increased their price target on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $126.00.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $120.31 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $93.51 billion, a PE ratio of 21.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.39. Duke Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $99.21 and a 1 year high of $125.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $119.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $114.60.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.17. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.90% and a return on equity of 9.50%. The business had revenue of $8.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.44 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.47%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 69.32%.

Duke Energy Company 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.