Bank of Marin Buys New Shares in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Bank of Marin purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 1,809 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $209,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. PBMares Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 1.8% in the third quarter. PBMares Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,886 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $563,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,425 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $444,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Castleview Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 1,944 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $224,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 1.4% in the third quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC now owns 6,591 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $760,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chicago Capital LLC raised its position in Duke Energy by 0.9% during the third quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 10,163 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,172,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DUK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. KeyCorp lowered shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, 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 objective on the stock. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $121.85.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:DUK traded down $0.70 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $109.98. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 437,408 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,050,054. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $115.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $109.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The stock has a market cap of $84.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.28, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.47. Duke Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $88.27 and a 12-month high of $121.25.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its earnings results 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 company 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.94 EPS. On average, equities 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 $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.80%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.