Sfmg LLC Invests $229,000 in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Sfmg LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,990 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $229,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 2.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,488,176 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,016,846,000 after acquiring an additional 442,302 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 11,471.4% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 6,777,973 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $781,500,000 after purchasing an additional 6,719,398 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 1.7% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,471,035 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $247,672,000 after buying an additional 40,243 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank raised its position in Duke Energy by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 2,290,641 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $264,111,000 after buying an additional 6,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Groupama Asset Managment bought a new stake in Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,537,000. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

DUK opened at $109.16 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $84.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.47. The business’s fifty day moving average is $114.49 and its 200-day moving average is $110.75. Duke Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $90.09 and a 52-week high of $121.25. 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 (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). The firm had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.06 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 14.31%. The company’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 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is presently 76.84%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on DUK. Barclays lifted 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. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. 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 objective for the company. KeyCorp lowered Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.23.

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.