Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. Raises Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,005 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $2,191,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in DUK. PBMares Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Duke Energy by 1.8% in 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 last quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 2.1% in the second quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,425 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $444,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Castleview Partners LLC boosted its position in Duke Energy by 4.9% during the third quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 1,944 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $224,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Capital LLC grew its stake in Duke Energy by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 10,163 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,172,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Private Wealth Partners LLC now owns 15,982 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,843,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on DUK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Mizuho upgraded Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $116.00 to $121.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $138.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 target price on shares of Duke Energy in a research note 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $121.85.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.64, for a total value of $61,365.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 19,884 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,259,617.76. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of DUK stock opened at $112.52 on Tuesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $86.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.72, a P/E/G ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.47. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $115.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $108.46. Duke Energy Co. has a one year low of $86.61 and a one year high of $121.25.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $7.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.84 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.71% and a net margin of 14.29%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.91 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.98 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.71%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 76.98%.

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.