Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Has $980,000 Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 2.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,503 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $980,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its position in Duke Energy by 69.6% in the second 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 stake in shares of Duke Energy during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Sachetta LLC increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 41.9% in the second quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $114.70 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $115.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $109.69. Duke Energy Co. has a one year low of $89.92 and a one year high of $121.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $88.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.08, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.47.

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). 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 the consensus estimate of $8.06 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.94 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

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 paid a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.64%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 76.84%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on DUK. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. BMO Capital Markets increased 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. 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. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $121.69.

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.