Hancock Whitney Corp Reduces Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Hancock Whitney Corp reduced its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 3.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,205 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 156 shares during the period. Hancock Whitney Corp’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $421,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 109.4% in the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,374 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $425,000 after purchasing an additional 2,285 shares in the last quarter. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC now owns 26,873 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,608,000 after buying an additional 1,841 shares during the period. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE purchased a new position in Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $255,000. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV increased its stake in Duke Energy by 11.6% in the 4th quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 4,610 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $447,000 after acquiring an additional 481 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Heritage Wealth Advisors boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Heritage Wealth Advisors now owns 4,798 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $466,000 after acquiring an additional 329 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.64, for a total value of $61,365.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 19,884 shares in the company, valued at $2,259,617.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:DUK opened at $117.31 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.81. Duke Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $83.06 and a fifty-two week high of $118.31. The firm has a market cap of $90.54 billion, a PE ratio of 29.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.47. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $112.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $104.13.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $7.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.84 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.29% and a return on equity of 9.71%. The company’s revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.91 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were given a $1.045 dividend. This is a positive change from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 105.03%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on DUK shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $99.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $116.36.

Duke Energy Company 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.