First Heartland Consultants Inc. Has $577,000 Stock Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

First Heartland Consultants Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 31.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,006 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,267 shares during the quarter. First Heartland Consultants Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $577,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of DUK. Aigen Investment Management LP raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 248.0% in the 3rd quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 19,023 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,193,000 after acquiring an additional 13,557 shares during the period. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Duke Energy by 12.4% in the 3rd quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 33,163 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,824,000 after purchasing an additional 3,659 shares during the last quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter worth $259,000. Platform Technology Partners grew its position in Duke Energy by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Platform Technology Partners now owns 16,551 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,908,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its position in Duke Energy by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,810,125 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $208,707,000 after purchasing an additional 17,847 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Duke Energy Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE DUK opened at $111.89 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $86.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.57, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.47. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $115.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $108.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.70. Duke Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $86.61 and a 52-week high of $121.25.

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

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.74%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 76.84%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DUK has been the topic of several recent research reports. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $138.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price target on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $121.85.

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.