Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Decreases Stock Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. trimmed its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 0.2% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 290,918 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 727 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $26,100,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AAF Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 10.5% during the second quarter. AAF Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,294 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $206,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. Beck Bode LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy in the second quarter valued at about $8,788,000. Clarius Group LLC raised its stake in Duke Energy by 12.2% during the second quarter. Clarius Group LLC now owns 7,455 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $669,000 after buying an additional 809 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 6.8% during the 2nd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 71,859 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,527,000 after buying an additional 4,549 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 57,609 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,170,000 after acquiring an additional 1,378 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.68% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DUK opened at $89.30 on Tuesday. Duke Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $83.06 and a 52-week high of $106.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.88, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $89.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $90.88.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.92 by $0.02. Duke Energy had a net margin of 4.47% and a return on equity of 8.24%. The company had revenue of $7.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.13 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.78 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 18th. Investors of record on Friday, November 17th will be paid a $1.025 dividend. This represents a $4.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 16th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 261.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DUK has been the topic of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $98.00 to $93.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 25th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $105.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 9th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Duke Energy from $104.00 to $101.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 6th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $96.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 14th. Finally, Guggenheim reduced their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $93.00 in a research note on Monday, October 9th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.36.

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; and uses coal, hydroelectric, natural gas, oil, solar and wind sources, renewables, and nuclear fuel to generate electricity.