Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC Lowers Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 12.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,635 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 528 shares during the quarter. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $419,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 9.4% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 108,819 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,520,000 after purchasing an additional 9,334 shares during the last quarter. Goodman Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in Duke Energy in the second quarter worth about $2,888,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Duke Energy in the first quarter worth about $1,396,000. PrairieView Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the second quarter valued at about $501,000. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 362.7% in the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 27,543 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,664,000 after purchasing an additional 21,590 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Duke Energy stock traded down $0.33 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $110.35. 334,623 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,049,592. Duke Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $88.27 and a 1 year high of $121.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The business has a 50-day moving average of $115.49 and a 200-day moving average of $109.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $85.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.47.

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

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 76.84%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. KeyCorp cut shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Mizuho upgraded Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $116.00 to $121.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $121.85.

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.