Wills Financial Group Inc. Has $796,000 Stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Wills Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 4.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,908 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 303 shares during the period. Wills Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $796,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the third quarter worth $175,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 40.9% during the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 45,386 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,233,000 after purchasing an additional 13,180 shares during the last quarter. Reynders McVeigh Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 11.1% during the third quarter. Reynders McVeigh Capital Management LLC now owns 4,132 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $476,000 after buying an additional 414 shares during the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new position in Duke Energy during the third quarter worth $173,000. Finally, IHT Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Duke Energy by 17.7% during the 3rd quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 22,292 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,573,000 after purchasing an additional 3,354 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on DUK. KeyCorp lowered shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Mizuho upgraded shares of Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $121.69.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Duke Energy stock opened at $114.02 on Friday. Duke Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $90.09 and a 12-month high of $121.25. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $115.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $110.49. 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 market capitalization of $88.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.96, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.47.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 during 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 for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.94 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 76.84%.

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.