Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. Lowers Stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. lowered its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 6.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,752 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,127 shares during the quarter. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,723,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 13.9% during the fourth quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,826 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $274,000 after purchasing an additional 344 shares during the period. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 28.6% in the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,023 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $355,000 after buying an additional 894 shares during the period. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC boosted its position in Duke Energy by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 25,824 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,545,000 after purchasing an additional 1,122 shares in the last quarter. Adviser Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $304,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,918,910 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $698,923,000 after purchasing an additional 144,612 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.4 %

Duke Energy stock traded up $0.34 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $96.43. 239,856 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,110,700. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $94.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $92.88. 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 twelve month low of $83.06 and a twelve month high of $100.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.39 billion, a PE ratio of 27.07, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.46.

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

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 16th were paid a $1.025 dividend. 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 4.25%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 115.49%.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

In related news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were 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 approximately $1,315,697.41. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Duke Energy from $98.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 29th. Bank of America downgraded Duke Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $105.00 to $96.00 in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Evercore ISI raised Duke Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $90.00 to $108.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Duke Energy from $103.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their target price on Duke Energy from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $100.00.

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.