Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Stake Lowered by Forte Capital LLC ADV

Forte Capital LLC ADV decreased its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 3.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,866 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 722 shares during the period. Forte Capital LLC ADV’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $2,636,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of DUK. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 70,675,702 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,835,047,000 after buying an additional 324,289 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in Duke Energy by 3.2% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,493,340 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,111,521,000 after acquiring an additional 352,320 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 11,471.4% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 6,777,973 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $781,500,000 after purchasing an additional 6,719,398 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,471,035 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $247,672,000 after purchasing an additional 40,243 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 65.7% in the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 2,052,969 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $205,769,000 after purchasing an additional 813,744 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Down 0.4 %

DUK stock opened at $113.62 on Thursday. Duke Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $86.61 and a twelve month high of $121.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56. The company has a market cap of $87.74 billion, a PE ratio of 20.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.47. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $115.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $108.61.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $7.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.84 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.71% and a net margin of 14.29%. Duke Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.91 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Duke Energy from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target 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. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock 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 given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.