Natixis Advisors LLC Buys 26,172 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 4.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 685,675 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 26,172 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC owned 0.09% of Duke Energy worth $79,059,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of DUK. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 9.4% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 108,819 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $10,520,000 after buying an additional 9,334 shares during the last quarter. Goodman Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the second quarter valued at about $2,888,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the first quarter valued at about $1,396,000. PrairieView Partners LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the second quarter worth about $501,000. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC raised its position in Duke Energy by 362.7% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 27,543 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,664,000 after purchasing an additional 21,590 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Duke Energy Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of DUK stock traded up $2.51 on Friday, hitting $112.17. The stock had a trading volume of 3,868,001 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,153,396. The business has a 50 day moving average of $115.40 and a 200 day moving average of $109.27. The stock has a market cap of $86.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.45. Duke Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $88.27 and a 12-month high of $121.25.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.06 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 9.34%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.94 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given 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 yield of 3.73%. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 76.84%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on DUK shares. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $138.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Evercore ISI lifted 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $121.85.

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.