Sawgrass Asset Management LLC Takes Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Sawgrass Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 3,426 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $395,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 119 shares during the period. Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC raised 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 valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 169 shares during the period. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on DUK shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Thursday, August 29th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Barclays upped their price target on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on Duke Energy from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $121.85.

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 company has a market cap of $86.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.62, a PEG ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.70. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $115.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $109.27.

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

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.73%. 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.