Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 6.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,194 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 204 shares during the quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $368,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 9.4% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 108,819 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,520,000 after purchasing an additional 9,334 shares during the last quarter. Goodman Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the second quarter worth $2,888,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Duke Energy in the first quarter valued at about $1,396,000. PrairieView Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $501,000. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 362.7% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 27,543 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,664,000 after buying an additional 21,590 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of DUK stock opened at $112.17 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $86.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 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. Duke Energy Co. has a one year low of $88.27 and a one year high of $121.25. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $115.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $109.27.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its 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 business had revenue of $8.16 billion for 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%. Duke Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.94 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.73%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 76.84%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on DUK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Barclays increased their price target on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price target on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. 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, Duke Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $121.85.

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.