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

Trust Co of the South purchased a new stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 11,802 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,145,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fairfield Bush & CO. acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 1st quarter worth about $40,000. Cibc World Market Inc. lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 47,250 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,276,000 after purchasing an additional 581 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 29.5% in the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 9,751 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,089,000 after purchasing an additional 2,223 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 447.8% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,260 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $141,000 after buying an additional 1,030 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. raised its position in Duke Energy by 5.2% in the 1st quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 6,505 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $726,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DUK has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $101.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 12th. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $103.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 9th. Bank of America lowered shares of Duke Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $105.00 to $96.00 in a report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Duke Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $90.00 to $108.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $100.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.57, for a total value 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.11% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Duke Energy Stock Down 1.2 %

NYSE DUK traded down $1.17 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $93.67. 2,816,066 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,158,784. Duke Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $83.06 and a 52-week high of $100.39. The firm has a market cap of $72.26 billion, a PE ratio of 26.39, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.46. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $94.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $92.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.49.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.24 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.11 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 18th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.38%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 115.49%.

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.