Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. boosted its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 45,232 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 985 shares during the period. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $5,215,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DUK. First Hawaiian Bank increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 8,882 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $890,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at $146,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 30.4% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 480 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. increased its position in Duke Energy by 36.6% during the 2nd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 13,748 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,330,000 after buying an additional 3,686 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Olistico Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the second quarter valued at $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on DUK. Evercore ISI raised their price target 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. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $138.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, KeyCorp cut Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $121.69.

Duke Energy Stock Down 0.3 %

DUK stock opened at $117.05 on Monday. Duke Energy Co. has a one year low of $90.09 and a one year high of $121.25. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $115.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $110.29. The firm has a market cap of $90.42 billion, a PE ratio of 21.52, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.70.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued 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). Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 14.31%. The business had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.94 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.96 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 76.84%.

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.