First National Corp MA ADV Decreases Stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

First National Corp MA ADV lowered its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 4.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,811 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 572 shares during the period. First National Corp MA ADV’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,146,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Shepherd Financial Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 0.5% in the first quarter. Shepherd Financial Partners LLC now owns 20,845 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,326,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the period. First Manhattan Co. increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. First Manhattan Co. now owns 11,917 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,227,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the period. Belpointe Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 0.6% in the first quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 19,405 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,872,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the period. Chemung Canal Trust Co. increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Chemung Canal Trust Co. now owns 14,483 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,405,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the period. Finally, Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,031 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,033,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

DUK opened at $95.75 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The company has a market cap of $73.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.07, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.46. Duke Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $83.06 and a 52-week high of $100.39. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $94.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $92.88.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.53 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $7.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.24 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 8.93% and a net margin of 9.78%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.11 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 16th were paid a $1.025 dividend. This represents a $4.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 115.49%.

Insider Transactions at Duke Energy

In other news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.57, for a total value of $277,710.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,213 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,315,697.41. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DUK has been the topic of a number of research reports. Bank of America lowered shares of Duke Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $105.00 to $96.00 in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Duke Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $90.00 to $108.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $103.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 9th. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $98.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 29th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $100.00.

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.