Empirical Finance LLC Increases Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Empirical Finance LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 26,490 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 564 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $3,054,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 69.6% in the second quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 290 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Olistico Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy in the third quarter worth about $30,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 101.2% in the 1st quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 336 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Duke Energy Trading Down 1.0 %

NYSE DUK opened at $109.55 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $84.63 billion, a PE ratio of 20.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.47. Duke Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $88.27 and a 52 week high of $121.25. 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $115.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $109.08.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.94 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.82%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 76.84%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on DUK shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. KeyCorp downgraded Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Six 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, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.