Haverford Trust Co Acquires 912 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Haverford Trust Co increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 7.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,542 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 912 shares during the period. Haverford Trust Co’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,446,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Empower Advisory Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 1.8% during the third quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,124,889 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $129,700,000 after purchasing an additional 20,334 shares in the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Duke Energy by 16.0% during the 3rd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 106,531 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $12,283,000 after buying an additional 14,726 shares during the period. Aigen Investment Management LP lifted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 13,557 shares in the last quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 3,659 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Savvy Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the third quarter worth about $259,000. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Down 0.5 %

NYSE:DUK opened at $111.27 on Thursday. Duke Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $88.27 and a twelve month high of $121.25. The firm 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. 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’s 50 day moving average price is $115.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $109.07.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly 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). The firm had revenue of $8.16 billion for 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 business’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.94 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.76%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 76.84%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. 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 research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Bank of America increased their price objective 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. KeyCorp cut shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Duke Energy in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $138.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. 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 stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $121.85.

Duke Energy 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.