Chiron Investment Management LLC Invests $2.02 Million in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Chiron Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 17,484 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,016,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DUK. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its position in Duke Energy by 11,471.4% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 6,777,973 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $781,500,000 after acquiring an additional 6,719,398 shares in the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment purchased a new position in Duke Energy in the third quarter worth about $2,537,000. Zimmer Partners LP purchased a new position in Duke Energy in the third quarter worth about $166,263,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Duke Energy by 13,829.1% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,125,607 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $129,782,000 after acquiring an additional 1,117,526 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its position in Duke Energy by 65.7% in the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 2,052,969 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $205,769,000 after acquiring an additional 813,744 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on DUK. Barclays lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. KeyCorp lowered Duke Energy from an "overweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Mizuho upgraded Duke Energy from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $135.00 target price 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 issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $121.69.

Duke Energy Stock Down 1.6 %

NYSE:DUK traded down $1.74 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $109.37. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,072,186 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,048,357. The company has a market capitalization of $84.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.47. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $90.09 and a 12 month high of $121.25. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $114.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $110.77.

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

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.82%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.