Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Buys 1,300 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 1.4% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 94,077 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $10,847,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 70,675,702 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,835,047,000 after acquiring an additional 324,289 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 3.2% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,493,340 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,111,521,000 after buying an additional 352,320 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $781,500,000 after buying an additional 6,719,398 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Duke Energy by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,471,035 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $247,672,000 after buying an additional 40,243 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 65.7% during the 2nd 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 during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Duke Energy Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:DUK opened at $111.27 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $115.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $109.07. 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 capitalization of $85.95 billion, a PE ratio of 20.45, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.47. Duke Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $88.27 and a 52 week high of $121.25.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released 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 firm 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%. Duke Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.94 EPS. Analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

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 given a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.76%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 76.84%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on DUK. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 target price on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Duke Energy in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $138.00 price objective on the stock. Mizuho raised Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.