Capital Square LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Capital Square LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 6.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,462 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 586 shares during the quarter. Capital Square LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,091,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 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 valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the period. Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Sachetta LLC increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 41.9% in the second quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the third quarter worth $38,000. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Scotiabank upped their target price on Duke Energy from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. KeyCorp lowered shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Duke Energy in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $138.00 price objective for the company. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $121.69.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of DUK traded up $0.87 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $115.57. The stock had a trading volume of 157,937 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,057,121. The business has a fifty day moving average of $115.14 and a 200 day moving average of $109.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.70. The firm has a market cap of $89.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.08, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.47. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $90.09 and a 12 month high of $121.25.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly 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). Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 14.31%. The business had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.94 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.62%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 76.84%.

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.