Bell Bank Reduces Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Bell Bank reduced its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 15.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 74,087 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 13,409 shares during the quarter. Duke Energy comprises approximately 1.0% of Bell Bank’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Bell Bank’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $8,542,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in DUK. PBMares Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 1.8% during the third quarter. PBMares Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,886 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $563,000 after buying an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Duke Energy by 2.1% during the second quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,425 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $444,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Castleview Partners LLC grew its stake in Duke Energy by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 1,944 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $224,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Kanawha Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC now owns 6,591 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $760,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. Finally, Chicago Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 0.9% during the third quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 10,163 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,172,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on DUK. KeyCorp lowered Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Mizuho raised Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $121.85.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DUK opened at $111.27 on Thursday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $85.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.47. Duke Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $88.27 and a twelve month high of $121.25. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $115.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $109.07.

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

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.76%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 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.