Cullen Capital Management LLC Trims Stock Position in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Cullen Capital Management LLC decreased its position in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,049,613 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 66,034 shares during the period. Duke Energy makes up 2.8% of Cullen Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Cullen Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $241,854,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in DUK. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 11,417.7% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 17,668,789 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,084,917,000 after purchasing an additional 17,515,383 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,716,783 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,934,580,000 after buying an additional 1,154,783 shares during the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. raised its stake in Duke Energy by 359.1% during the first quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 1,132,613 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $138,145,000 after acquiring an additional 885,900 shares during the period. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 2,682.0% in the first quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 895,647 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $109,242,000 after acquiring an additional 863,453 shares during the period. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 131.9% in the first quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 1,055,482 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $128,737,000 after acquiring an additional 600,271 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DUK opened at $115.21 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $123.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $121.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. The stock has a market cap of $89.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.49. Duke Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $105.20 and a fifty-two week high of $130.03.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $8.54 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.51 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.76% and a return on equity of 9.98%. The company’s revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.62 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 14th will be given a $1.065 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 14th. This represents a $4.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.98%.

Insider Transactions at Duke Energy

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Robert Alexander Glenn sold 8,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.80, for a total value of $1,015,160.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 11,367 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,407,234.60. This trade represents a 41.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on DUK shares. Royal Bank Of Canada raised Duke Energy to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Mizuho raised their target price on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $131.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $138.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $137.06.

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.