Semus Wealth Partners LLC Buys Shares of 1,907 Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Semus Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,907 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $220,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. PBMares Wealth Management LLC increased its position in 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 period. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Duke Energy by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,425 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $444,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Castleview Partners LLC increased its position in Duke Energy by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 1,944 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $224,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Kanawha Capital Management LLC increased its position in Duke Energy by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC now owns 6,591 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $760,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. Finally, Chicago Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 10,163 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,172,000 after buying an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DUK opened at $111.85 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $88.27 and a 12 month high of $121.25. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $115.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $109.33. The stock has a market cap of $86.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.62, a PEG ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.47.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.06 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 9.34%. Duke Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.94 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 76.84%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on DUK. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Barclays raised their price target 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. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $121.85.

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.