Covestor Ltd Increases Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Covestor Ltd raised its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 31.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 410 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the quarter. Covestor Ltd’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $47,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 69.6% in the 2nd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 290 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the period. Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 101.2% in the 1st quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 336 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the first quarter valued at about $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $110.68 on Friday. Duke Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $88.27 and a twelve month high of $121.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $85.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.35, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $115.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $109.08.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.06 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 9.34%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.94 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 76.84%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Duke Energy in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $138.00 price target on the stock. KeyCorp cut Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $121.85.

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.