Cadence Bank Grows Stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Cadence Bank lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 4.5% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 8,688 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 371 shares during the period. Cadence Bank’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,002,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 69.6% during the second quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 290 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Sachetta LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on DUK shares. Mizuho raised shares of Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price 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. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Six 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 stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $121.69.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Duke Energy stock opened at $117.41 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $90.70 billion, a PE ratio of 21.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.47. Duke Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $90.09 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’s 50 day moving average is $115.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $110.03.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.06 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 14.31%. Duke Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.94 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.56%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.