Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Reduces Stock Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. cut its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 2.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,050 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 584 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $2,773,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of DUK. DRW Securities LLC boosted its position in Duke Energy by 2,604.9% in the third quarter. DRW Securities LLC now owns 104,870 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $12,092,000 after purchasing an additional 100,993 shares during the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 0.9% during the third quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 117,798 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $13,582,000 after buying an additional 1,024 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd raised its position in Duke Energy by 1,258.1% in the third quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 49,341 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,689,000 after acquiring an additional 45,708 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 32.7% during the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 111,429 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $12,848,000 after acquiring an additional 27,462 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Trail Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 9.5% in the 3rd quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 8,329 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $960,000 after purchasing an additional 723 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DUK has been the subject of several recent research reports. Mizuho raised Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $116.00 to $121.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. 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 note on Tuesday, August 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $121.69.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.3 %

NYSE DUK opened at $115.00 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $115.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $109.88. Duke Energy Co. has a one year low of $90.09 and a one year high of $121.25. The company has a market capitalization of $88.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.14, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by ($0.11). Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 14.31%. The business had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.94 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.63%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is presently 76.84%.

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.