Plato Investment Management Ltd Buys 397 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Plato Investment Management Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 12.9% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 3,465 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 397 shares during the quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $399,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. PBMares Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 1.8% during the third quarter. PBMares Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,886 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $563,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Duke Energy by 2.1% in the 2nd 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 during the last quarter. Castleview Partners LLC boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 4.9% in the third quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 1,944 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $224,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC grew its position in Duke Energy by 1.4% during the third quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC now owns 6,591 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $760,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chicago Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 0.9% during the third quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 10,163 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,172,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of DUK stock opened at $110.68 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $115.61 and a 200 day moving average of $109.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $85.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.35, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.47. Duke Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $88.27 and a 52 week high of $121.25.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($0.11). Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 14.31%. The company had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.94 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

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 given a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 76.84%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on DUK. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Mizuho raised Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Scotiabank raised their price target on 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, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $121.85.

Duke Energy 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.