Fulton Bank N.A. Lowers Stake in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Fulton Bank N.A. trimmed its holdings in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 14.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 26,726 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 4,625 shares during the period. Fulton Bank N.A.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $3,307,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. American National Bank & Trust raised its stake in Duke Energy by 125.6% during the 3rd quarter. American National Bank & Trust now owns 8,176 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,012,000 after acquiring an additional 4,552 shares during the last quarter. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. now owns 20,211 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,501,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. apricus wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 0.9% in the third quarter. apricus wealth LLC now owns 21,911 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,711,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 10.1% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 20,430 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,528,000 after purchasing an additional 1,882 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pflug Koory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 3.0% during the third quarter. Pflug Koory LLC now owns 2,694 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $333,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DUK has been the topic of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $138.00 to $136.00 in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Morgan Stanley set a $126.00 price target on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $137.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Cowen assumed coverage on Duke Energy in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Duke Energy from $136.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $136.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Robert Alexander Glenn sold 8,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.80, for a total value of $1,015,160.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 11,367 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,407,234.60. This represents a 41.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.2%

DUK stock opened at $117.40 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $120.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $121.24. Duke Energy Corporation has a 52 week low of $105.20 and a 52 week high of $130.03. The company has a market cap of $91.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.50.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $8.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.51 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.76% and a return on equity of 9.98%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.62 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 14th were given a dividend of $1.065 per share. This represents a $4.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 14th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is presently 66.98%.

Duke Energy Profile

Duke Energy Corporation is a U.S.-based electric power holding company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company’s core business is the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers. Duke Energy operates a mix of regulated electric utilities and non-regulated energy businesses, providing essential energy infrastructure and services across multiple states.

Its operating activities include owning and operating generation assets across a portfolio that encompasses nuclear, natural gas, coal, hydroelectric and an expanding array of renewable resources, as well as battery storage and grid modernization projects.