United Bank Grows Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

United Bank boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,764 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the quarter. United Bank’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $549,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its position in Duke Energy by 69.6% during the 2nd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 290 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Olistico Wealth LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 101.2% during the 1st quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 336 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares during the period. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy during the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on DUK shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Scotiabank increased their price objective 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. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price target on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $121.85.

Duke Energy Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $113.23 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.81. The company has a fifty day moving average of $115.84 and a 200 day moving average of $108.73. The company has a market capitalization of $87.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.85, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.47. Duke Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $86.61 and a fifty-two week high of $121.25.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.06 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.71% and a net margin of 14.29%. The business’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.94 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 76.98%.

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.