1,854 Shares in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Acquired by Second Half Financial Partners LLC

Second Half Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 1,854 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $214,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 69.6% during the second quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 290 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Sachetta LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 41.9% in the second quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DUK opened at $113.18 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $87.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.47. The company’s 50-day moving average is $115.33 and its 200 day moving average is $109.43. 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 Co. has a fifty-two week low of $88.27 and a fifty-two week high of $121.25.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its 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). 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.94 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

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 paid a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.69%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is presently 76.84%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 target price on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Mizuho upgraded shares of 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. KeyCorp lowered Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.