Avalon Investment & Advisory Cuts Stock Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Avalon Investment & Advisory lessened its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 1.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 209,927 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,616 shares during the quarter. Avalon Investment & Advisory’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $20,252,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. Fairfield Bush & CO. purchased a new stake in Duke Energy in the 1st quarter worth $40,000. Cibc World Market Inc. boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 47,250 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,276,000 after purchasing an additional 581 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 29.5% during the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 9,751 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,089,000 after purchasing an additional 2,223 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 447.8% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,260 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $141,000 after purchasing an additional 1,030 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 6,505 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $726,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.68% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Trading Up 1.8 %

NYSE DUK traded up $1.62 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $91.02. The company had a trading volume of 3,302,714 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,658,666. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $91.30 and a 200 day moving average of $93.42. Duke Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $83.76 and a 1-year high of $111.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.43.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by ($0.07). Duke Energy had a net margin of 5.06% and a return on equity of 8.05%. The company had revenue of $6.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.16 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.14 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.025 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 17th. This is a positive change from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.01. This represents a $4.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.50%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 229.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Wednesday, August 23rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $96.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $98.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. Guggenheim lowered their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $102.00 in a research note on Friday, July 7th. StockNews.com cut shares of Duke Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $105.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $99.83.

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; and uses coal, hydroelectric, natural gas, oil, solar and wind sources, renewables, and nuclear fuel to generate electricity.