MQS Management LLC Acquires Shares of 7,297 Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

MQS Management LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 7,297 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $841,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in DUK. Haverford Trust Co increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 7.8% in the third quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 12,542 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,446,000 after buying an additional 912 shares during the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,124,889 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $129,700,000 after acquiring an additional 20,334 shares in the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 16.0% in the 3rd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 106,531 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $12,283,000 after purchasing an additional 14,726 shares in the last quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 248.0% during the third quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 19,023 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,193,000 after purchasing an additional 13,557 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Duke Energy by 12.4% in the third 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 in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DUK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Mizuho raised Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 target price on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $121.85.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DUK opened at $111.89 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $115.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $109.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The stock has a market cap of $86.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.57, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.47. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $86.61 and a 12 month high of $121.25.

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

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.74%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.