Duke Energy Corporation $DUK Stock Sold by Willis Investment Counsel

Key Points

• Willis Investment Counsel reduced its Duke Energy stake by 9.4% in the third quarter, selling 15,000 shares and retaining 145,137 shares valued at approximately $16.5 million.
• Institutional investors own 65.31% of Duke Energy, while analyst sentiment remains positive overall, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $132.73.
• Duke Energy reported quarterly EPS of $1.43, exceeding estimates, and declared a quarterly dividend of $1.085 per share, equivalent to a 3.6% annualized yield.

Willis Investment Counsel lessened its holdings in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 145,137 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 15,000 shares during the period. Willis Investment Counsel's holdings in Duke Energy were worth $16,547,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the second quarter worth $605,680,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in Duke Energy by 5,254.4% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,735,816 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $358,227,000 after buying an additional 2,684,721 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank grew its stake in Duke Energy by 7.1% in the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 2,282,341 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $298,850,000 after buying an additional 151,400 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,092,284 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $273,979,000 after acquiring an additional 58,967 shares during the period. Finally, National Pension Service raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 2,124,004 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $268,856,000 after acquiring an additional 36,835 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on DUK shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Duke Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Duke Energy from $134.00 to $132.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Mizuho set a $136.00 price objective on Duke Energy in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. BTIG Research restated a "buy" rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, KeyCorp lowered their target price on Duke Energy from $139.00 to $128.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $132.73.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:DUK traded up $1.80 on Tuesday, hitting $121.07. 1,073,221 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,985,188. The company's 50 day moving average price is $118.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $123.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $94.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.18, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.36. 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 Corporation has a one year low of $112.40 and a one year high of $134.49.

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

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 13th will be given a $1.0850 dividend. This represents a $4.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 13th. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio is 65.17%.

About Duke Energy

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.

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