24,499 Shares in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Acquired by ING Groep NV

ING Groep NV bought a new position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 24,499 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,825,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in DUK. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 9.4% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 108,819 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $10,520,000 after acquiring an additional 9,334 shares in the last quarter. Goodman Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,888,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,396,000. PrairieView Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $501,000. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC increased its position in Duke Energy by 362.7% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 27,543 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,664,000 after buying an additional 21,590 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented 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. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Mizuho raised Duke Energy from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on 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 reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $135.00 price target on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $121.85.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

DUK traded up $2.51 on Friday, reaching $112.17. The company had a trading volume of 3,868,001 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,153,396. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.65 billion, a PE ratio of 20.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.47. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $115.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $109.27. Duke Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $88.27 and a 1 year high of $121.25.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last announced 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). 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.94 EPS. The company's revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.73%. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 76.84%.

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.