CHICAGO TRUST Co NA Purchases 1,575 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

CHICAGO TRUST Co NA increased its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 36.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,912 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,575 shares during the period. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $637,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. PBMares Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. PBMares Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,886 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $563,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Castleview Partners LLC raised its position in Duke Energy by 4.9% in the third quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 1,944 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $224,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Kanawha Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC now owns 6,591 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $760,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,730 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $315,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chicago Capital LLC raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 10,163 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,172,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DUK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Mizuho raised 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 research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Duke Energy in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $138.00 price target on the stock. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.23.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of DUK stock opened at $106.29 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $82.11 billion, a PE ratio of 19.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.49. 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’s 50 day simple moving average is $110.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $111.83. Duke Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $90.09 and a 1 year high of $121.25.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly 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). Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 14.31%. The company had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.94 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.93%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.