Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lowered its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 63.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 35,889 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 62,247 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $4,138,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy in the third quarter worth about $30,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 69.6% in the 2nd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 290 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Sachetta LLC raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 41.9% in the second quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the third quarter worth $38,000. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on DUK. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price target on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Scotiabank upped their target price on Duke Energy from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $121.85.

Duke Energy Trading Down 0.5 %

DUK stock opened at $111.89 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. Duke Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $86.61 and a 52-week high of $121.25. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $115.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $108.97. The firm has a market cap of $86.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.57, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.47.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.06 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 9.34%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.94 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 76.84%.

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.