Main Street Group LTD Sells 442 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Main Street Group LTD cut its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 55.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 355 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 442 shares during the period. Main Street Group LTD’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $38,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 31,353 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,378,000 after buying an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Duke Energy by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,456 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $372,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. Intergy Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Intergy Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,113 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $228,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 7,233 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $779,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Finally, Cravens & Co Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Cravens & Co Advisors LLC now owns 2,624 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $283,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

DUK stock opened at $113.12 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.44. Duke Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $99.21 and a 1-year high of $125.27. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $119.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $114.55. The company has a market capitalization of $87.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.81, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.39.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.17. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.50% and a net margin of 14.90%. The company had revenue of $8.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.44 earnings per share. Duke Energy’s revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast 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. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.70%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $128.00 to $123.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $130.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $127.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $126.00.

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.