Trust Co of the South Invests $1.15 Million in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Trust Co of the South bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 11,802 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,145,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of DUK. CKW Financial Group acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Fairfield Bush & CO. bought a new position in Duke Energy in the 1st quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Compass Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on DUK shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Duke Energy from $103.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Royal Bank of Canada raised Duke Energy from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $101.00 to $113.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $98.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 29th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Duke Energy from $101.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised Duke Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $90.00 to $108.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $100.00.

Insider Transactions at Duke Energy

In other news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.57, for a total transaction of $277,710.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,213 shares in the company, valued at $1,315,697.41. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Duke Energy Price Performance

DUK traded down $1.17 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $93.67. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,816,066 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,158,784. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $94.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $92.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $83.06 and a 12 month high of $100.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.46.

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

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 16th were given a dividend of $1.025 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. This represents a $4.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.38%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is currently 115.49%.

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.