Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. Has $488,000 Stock Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. grew its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,030 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 209 shares during the quarter. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $488,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. CKW Financial Group bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the first quarter valued at $28,000. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Fairfield Bush & CO. bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the first quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Compass Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

NYSE DUK opened at $96.12 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $94.13 and its 200-day moving average is $93.02. The firm has a market cap of $74.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.46. Duke Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $83.06 and a 12-month high of $100.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.53 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $7.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.24 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 9.78% and a return on equity of 8.93%. Duke Energy’s revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.11 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 18th. Investors of record on Friday, February 16th were paid a dividend of $1.025 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. This represents a $4.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.27%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 115.49%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.57, for a total value of $277,710.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,213 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,315,697.41. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Duke Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $90.00 to $108.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Duke Energy from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $101.00 to $113.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $101.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $103.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded shares of Duke Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $105.00 to $96.00 in a report on Monday, February 12th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $100.00.

About Duke Energy

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.