Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Bought by Ashton Thomas Securities LLC

Ashton Thomas Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 23.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,505 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 865 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $519,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 70,675,702 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,835,047,000 after buying an additional 324,289 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in Duke Energy by 3.2% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,493,340 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,111,521,000 after purchasing an additional 352,320 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 11,471.4% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 6,777,973 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $781,500,000 after purchasing an additional 6,719,398 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1.7% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,471,035 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $247,672,000 after purchasing an additional 40,243 shares during the period. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 65.7% in the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 2,052,969 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $205,769,000 after purchasing an additional 813,744 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on DUK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Duke Energy from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Mizuho upgraded shares of Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price target on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $121.85.

Duke Energy Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of DUK opened at $112.46 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $115.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $108.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.67, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. Duke Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $86.61 and a twelve month high of $121.25.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.06 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 9.34%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.94 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.72%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 76.84%.

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.