Blankinship & Foster LLC Takes $4.70 Million Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Blankinship & Foster LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 40,720 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $4,695,000. Duke Energy accounts for about 0.8% of Blankinship & Foster LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the third quarter worth $30,000. Sachetta LLC raised its stake in Duke Energy by 41.9% in the second quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 325 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy during the third quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Duke Energy by 100.0% during the third quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 334 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DUK has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Mizuho raised Duke Energy from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their target price for the company from $116.00 to $121.00 in a report 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. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $122.23.

Duke Energy Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE DUK traded down $0.43 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $109.16. 3,026,570 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,056,147. Duke Energy Co. has a one year low of $90.09 and a one year high of $121.25. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $114.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $110.77. 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 company has a market cap of $84.32 billion, a PE ratio of 20.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.47.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.06 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 9.34%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.94 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.95 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.83%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.