Clark Capital Management Group Inc. Has $46.87 Million Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Clark Capital Management Group Inc. reduced its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 435,059 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 7,256 shares during the period. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. owned about 0.06% of Duke Energy worth $46,873,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Duke Energy by 4.1% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 960,178 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $110,709,000 after acquiring an additional 37,453 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 9.6% during the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 7,819 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $843,000 after buying an additional 688 shares in the last quarter. Peoples Bank KS raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 17.7% in the 4th quarter. Peoples Bank KS now owns 2,765 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $298,000 after buying an additional 416 shares in the last quarter. Park National Corp OH boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Park National Corp OH now owns 16,347 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,761,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Douglas Lane & Associates LLC increased its stake in Duke Energy by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC now owns 3,748 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $404,000 after acquiring an additional 314 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $127.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $128.00 to $123.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $126.00.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of DUK stock traded up $0.31 on Friday, hitting $120.31. 3,036,352 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,380,504. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.39. Duke Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $99.21 and a fifty-two week high of $125.27. The business has a 50-day moving average of $119.48 and a 200 day moving average of $114.60.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.17. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.90% and a return on equity of 9.50%. The company had revenue of $8.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.70 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.44 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.47%. Duke Energy's payout ratio is presently 69.32%.

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.