Public Sector Pension Investment Board Grows Stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 3.0% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 134,802 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,900 shares during the quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $15,543,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 6,719,398 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 13,829.1% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,125,607 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $129,782,000 after acquiring an additional 1,117,526 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 65.7% in the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 2,052,969 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $205,769,000 after acquiring an additional 813,744 shares during the period. Wulff Hansen & CO. raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 9,923.0% in the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 769,265 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $77,103,000 after acquiring an additional 761,590 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 187.8% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 456,821 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $44,179,000 after acquiring an additional 298,117 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE DUK opened at $117.42 on Friday. Duke Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $90.09 and a 12-month high of $121.25. The stock has a market cap of $90.70 billion, a PE ratio of 21.58, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The company has a 50-day moving average of $115.17 and a 200 day moving average of $110.09.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 period last year, the company earned $1.94 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.56%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 76.84%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $138.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 target price on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $121.69.

About Duke Energy

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.