Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Stock Holdings Boosted by Equitable Trust Co.

Equitable Trust Co. boosted its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 27.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,835 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 5,599 shares during the quarter. Equitable Trust Co.'s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $2,979,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 11,471.4% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 6,777,973 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $781,500,000 after purchasing an additional 6,719,398 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Duke Energy by 13,829.1% during 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 buying an additional 1,117,526 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its position in shares of 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. Wulff Hansen & CO. raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 9,923.0% in the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 769,265 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $77,103,000 after acquiring an additional 761,590 shares during the period. Finally, BROOKFIELD Corp ON acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 1st quarter valued at $36,278,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Duke Energy Stock Up 1.9 %

NYSE:DUK traded up $2.15 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $113.23. The stock had a trading volume of 3,788,549 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,321,600. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $115.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $108.73. Duke Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $86.61 and a 1-year high of $121.25. The company has a market capitalization of $87.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.53.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 14.29% and a return on equity of 9.71%. The firm had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.94 earnings per share. Duke Energy's revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.98 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on DUK shares. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Duke Energy in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a "buy" rating and a $138.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Mizuho raised shares of Duke Energy from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company 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.