Main Street Financial Solutions LLC Purchases 1,904 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Main Street Financial Solutions LLC increased its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 68.1% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,701 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,904 shares during the period. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $542,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 4,702 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $455,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Twin Tree Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the first quarter valued at about $45,000. Banco Santander S.A. boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 31.8% during the 1st quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 11,626 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,124,000 after purchasing an additional 2,804 shares in the last quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 7.9% in the 1st quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd now owns 23,349 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,258,000 after buying an additional 1,710 shares during the period. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Duke Energy in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,396,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on DUK. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price target on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $121.85.

Duke Energy Stock Down 0.6 %

DUK stock opened at $110.68 on Friday. Duke Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $88.27 and a 1-year high of $121.25. The stock has a market cap of $85.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.35, a P/E/G ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.47. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $115.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $109.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.06 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 9.34%. Duke Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.94 EPS. Analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors 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 3.78%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 76.84%.

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.