2,249 Shares in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Bought by Savvy Advisors Inc.

Savvy Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 2,249 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $259,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of DUK. PBMares Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. PBMares Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,886 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $563,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 2.1% in the second quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,425 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $444,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Castleview Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 4.9% during the third quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 1,944 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $224,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Duke Energy by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC now owns 6,591 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $760,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chicago Capital LLC boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 10,163 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,172,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of DUK opened at $111.27 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $85.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.47. Duke Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $88.27 and a 52-week high of $121.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $115.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $109.07.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($0.11). Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 9.34%. The company had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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. Research analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be given 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 dividend yield of 3.76%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.84%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on DUK shares. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $138.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Duke Energy from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Mizuho raised Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Six equities 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.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $121.85.

About Duke Energy

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.