Portside Wealth Group LLC Raises Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Portside Wealth Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 5.7% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 10,695 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 579 shares during the quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,233,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 69.6% during the second quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 290 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the period. Olistico Wealth LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy in the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Sachetta LLC lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 41.9% during the second quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of DUK stock opened at $111.08 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The business has a fifty day moving average of $115.89 and a 200 day moving average of $108.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $85.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.47. Duke Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $86.61 and a 1 year high of $121.25.

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

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

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 dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.76%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 76.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on DUK shares. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $138.00 target price for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research 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, Duke Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.