Drucker Wealth 3.0 LLC Cuts Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Drucker Wealth 3.0 LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 33,725 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 842 shares during the period. Drucker Wealth 3.0 LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $3,634,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Warm Springs Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $281,000. North Star Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Duke Energy by 30.7% in the 4th quarter. North Star Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,620 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $282,000 after purchasing an additional 616 shares in the last quarter. Invst LLC increased its stake in Duke Energy by 18.2% in the 4th quarter. Invst LLC now owns 3,054 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $329,000 after purchasing an additional 471 shares in the last quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new position in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $6,098,000. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new position in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,396,000. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays raised 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. Citigroup increased their target price on Duke Energy from $130.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. UBS Group increased their target price on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Duke Energy from $126.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $125.81.

Duke Energy Price Performance

DUK stock opened at $116.51 on Friday. Duke Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $99.21 and a 52-week high of $125.27. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $119.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $114.64. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $90.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.39.

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

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors 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 3.59%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is currently 69.32%.

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.