Claro Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Claro Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 13,163 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 241 shares during the period. Claro Advisors LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,518,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 9.4% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 108,819 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,520,000 after purchasing an additional 9,334 shares during the period. Goodman Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy in the 2nd quarter worth $2,888,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the first quarter valued at about $1,396,000. PrairieView Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the second quarter valued at about $501,000. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 362.7% during the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 27,543 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,664,000 after purchasing an additional 21,590 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DUK opened at $112.17 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $115.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $109.27. Duke Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $88.27 and a fifty-two week high of $121.25. The company has a market capitalization of $86.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.47. 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). Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 9.34%. The company had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.94 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.73%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.84%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on DUK shares. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Duke Energy in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $138.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $121.85.

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.