Swiss National Bank Boosts Stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Swiss National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,290,641 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,500 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $264,111,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its position in 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 buying an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 1st quarter worth about $36,000. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Duke Energy Trading Up 2.3 %

DUK opened at $112.17 on Friday. Duke Energy Co. has a one year low of $88.27 and a one year high of $121.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.62, a PEG ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.47. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $115.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $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.

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). The company had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.06 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 14.31%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.94 EPS. Analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors 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 3.73%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is currently 76.84%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DUK has been the subject of a number of research reports. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Mizuho upgraded Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. KeyCorp cut Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.