Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Short Interest Up 10.9% in November

Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 10,490,000 shares, a growth of 10.9% from the October 31st total of 9,460,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 3,360,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.1 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on DUK. Mizuho raised Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $116.00 to $121.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $121.69.

Duke Energy Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:DUK traded down $1.54 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $113.64. 2,437,838 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,063,810. Duke Energy has a 12-month low of $90.09 and a 12-month high of $121.25. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $115.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $110.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.70. The firm has a market cap of $87.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.47.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued 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 company had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.06 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 14.31%. Duke Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.94 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Duke Energy will post 5.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.68%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 76.84%.

Institutional Trading of Duke Energy

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Old North State Trust LLC raised its stake in Duke Energy by 0.6% during the third quarter. Old North State Trust LLC now owns 27,125 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,128,000 after buying an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 24,787 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,858,000 after acquiring an additional 719 shares in the last quarter. Blankinship & Foster LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the third quarter worth $4,695,000. Destination Wealth Management increased its stake in Duke Energy by 27.9% during the third quarter. Destination Wealth Management now owns 4,895 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $564,000 after purchasing an additional 1,067 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 250.1% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 31,260 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,604,000 after buying an additional 22,332 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.