WealthPLAN Partners LLC Takes $226,000 Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

WealthPLAN Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 1,957 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $226,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 69.6% in the 2nd 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 during the period. Olistico Wealth LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 101.2% during the first quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 336 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DUK has been the topic of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Mizuho raised shares of Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $121.85.

Duke Energy Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of DUK opened at $111.89 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $115.81 and its 200 day moving average is $108.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.40 billion, a PE ratio of 20.57, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.47. Duke Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $86.61 and a fifty-two week high of $121.25.

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

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is currently 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.