Natixis Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 4.0% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 685,675 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 26,172 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $79,059,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,493,340 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,111,521,000 after acquiring an additional 352,320 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 11,471.4% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 6,777,973 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $781,500,000 after purchasing an additional 6,719,398 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Duke Energy by 1.7% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,471,035 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $247,672,000 after buying an additional 40,243 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 65.7% during the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 2,052,969 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $205,769,000 after buying an additional 813,744 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 15.2% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,816,758 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $182,101,000 after buying an additional 240,136 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DUK opened at $112.17 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $115.40 and its 200 day moving average is $109.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.47. Duke Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $88.27 and a 1 year high of $121.25.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released 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 firm had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.94 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share 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 paid a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.73%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 76.84%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on DUK shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $138.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $121.85.

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.