Short Interest in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Increases By 10.9%

Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 10,490,000 shares, an increase of 10.9% from the October 31st total of 9,460,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 3,360,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.1 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on DUK shares. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $121.69.

Duke Energy Trading Down 1.6 %

NYSE:DUK traded down $1.87 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $115.18. 3,419,511 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,066,465. The stock has a market capitalization of $88.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.17, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.47. Duke Energy has a 12 month low of $90.09 and a 12 month high of $121.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.70. The company has a fifty day moving average of $115.18 and a 200 day moving average of $110.29.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by ($0.11). Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 9.34%. The business had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.94 EPS. Duke Energy’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Duke Energy will post 5.96 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 3.63%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 76.84%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Duke Energy

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of DUK. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,488,176 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,016,846,000 after buying an additional 442,302 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 11,471.4% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 6,777,973 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $781,500,000 after buying an additional 6,719,398 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Duke Energy by 1.7% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,471,035 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $247,672,000 after purchasing an additional 40,243 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 2,290,641 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $264,111,000 after buying an additional 6,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Groupama Asset Managment purchased a new position in Duke Energy during the third quarter worth $2,537,000. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.