Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Sold by Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc.

Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. reduced its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 6.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,752 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,127 shares during the period. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,723,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 100,433.2% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,846,616 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $808,123,000 after acquiring an additional 7,838,811 shares during the period. Imprint Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 8,722.3% during the second quarter. Imprint Wealth LLC now owns 1,127,837 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $112,784,000 after purchasing an additional 1,115,053 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 11.5% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,018,171 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,031,772,000 after acquiring an additional 1,037,012 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 4.6% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 23,010,030 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,030,865,000 after acquiring an additional 1,002,157 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 2,064.4% in the first quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 860,421 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $83,005,000 after purchasing an additional 820,667 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Duke Energy Price Performance

DUK traded up $0.34 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $96.43. 239,856 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,110,700. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $94.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $92.88. The company has a market capitalization of $74.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.07, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. Duke Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $83.06 and a 52-week high of $100.39.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.51 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $7.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.24 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.11 earnings per share. Duke Energy’s revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 16th were paid a dividend of $1.025 per share. The ex-dividend date 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 other news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,213 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,315,697.41. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

About Duke Energy

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.