MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. Trims Stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. cut its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 3.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 7,515 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 275 shares during the quarter. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $810,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of DUK. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 147,877 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $15,932,000 after purchasing an additional 19,095 shares during the period. Kolinsky Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter worth $206,000. Royal Capital Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Duke Energy by 8.4% in the 4th quarter. Royal Capital Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,618 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $282,000 after buying an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. White Knight Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. White Knight Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,700 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $399,000 after acquiring an additional 1,850 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Street Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Principal Street Partners LLC now owns 52,388 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,644,000 after acquiring an additional 720 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on DUK. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $126.00.

Duke Energy Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE DUK opened at $116.47 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.39. Duke Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $99.21 and a 12-month 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 firm’s 50-day moving average price is $119.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $114.60.

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

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.59%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. 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.