Willis Investment Counsel Sells 15,000 Shares of Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Willis Investment Counsel reduced its stake in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 145,137 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 15,000 shares during the quarter. Willis Investment Counsel’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $16,547,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of DUK. Evergreen Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 154.6% in the first quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 275 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy in the first quarter valued at about $38,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC increased its position in Duke Energy by 53.1% in the first quarter. Millstone Evans Group LLC now owns 297 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Finally, Gill Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Duke Energy by 128.9% during the 2nd quarter. Gill Capital Partners LLC now owns 309 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Trading Up 1.5%

DUK traded up $1.80 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $121.07. 1,073,221 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,985,188. The stock has a market capitalization of $94.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.18, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.36. Duke Energy Corporation has a one year low of $112.40 and a one year high of $134.49. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $118.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $123.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.66.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $7.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.66 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.78% and a net margin of 15.78%. Duke Energy’s revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.25 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.0850 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 13th. This represents a $4.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is currently 65.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on DUK. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $121.00 target price on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Monday, October 12th. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $132.00 to $124.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $135.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 12th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $132.73.

Duke Energy Profile

Duke Energy Corporation is an energy holding company that provides regulated electric and natural gas utility services in the United States. Its electric utilities generate, transmit, distribute and sell electricity to residential, commercial, industrial and other customers. The company’s generation portfolio includes nuclear, natural gas, coal, hydroelectric and renewable energy resources.

Duke Energy serves customers primarily in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky.