WASHINGTON TRUST Co Has $731,000 Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

WASHINGTON TRUST Co increased its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 7.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 7,531 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 503 shares during the quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $731,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in DUK. CKW Financial Group bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Fairfield Bush & CO. bought a new position in Duke Energy during the first quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Compass Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth $41,000. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.6 %

NYSE DUK traded up $0.57 during trading on Thursday, reaching $96.66. 707,949 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,118,440. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $94.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $92.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.57 billion, a PE ratio of 27.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.46. Duke Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $83.06 and a fifty-two week high of $100.39.

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

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 16th were issued a $1.025 dividend. This represents a $4.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 115.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy

In related news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,213 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,315,697.41. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on DUK. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $103.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 9th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $101.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 12th. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $98.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 29th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Duke Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $90.00 to $108.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $100.00.

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.