Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Lowers Stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio reduced its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 339,696 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 8,923 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio's holdings in Duke Energy were worth $36,599,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,885,939 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $7,852,731,000 after acquiring an additional 779,054 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 18,097,796 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,949,857,000 after purchasing an additional 124,863 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,873,788 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,930,833,000 after purchasing an additional 385,612 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Duke Energy by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,562,545 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $922,529,000 after buying an additional 135,665 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 8,503,503 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $916,168,000 after buying an additional 357,967 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of Duke Energy stock traded up $0.70 during trading on Thursday, hitting $115.15. 851,367 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,431,523. The stock has a market cap of $89.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.17, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. Duke Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $99.21 and a 52 week high of $125.27. The firm's fifty day moving average is $118.78 and its 200-day moving average is $114.71.

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

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on DUK shares. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. Guggenheim raised their target price on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Duke Energy from $126.00 to $125.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $127.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $125.81.

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.