Empirical Finance LLC Has $3.05 Million Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Empirical Finance LLC increased its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,490 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 564 shares during the quarter. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $3,054,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,194 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $368,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Vectors Research Management LLC raised its position in Duke Energy by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vectors Research Management LLC now owns 16,908 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,951,000 after buying an additional 1,161 shares during the last quarter. FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co now owns 248,266 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,625,000 after acquiring an additional 1,910 shares during the last quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 96.0% in the 3rd quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners now owns 8,277 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $954,000 after acquiring an additional 4,053 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ING Groep NV bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the third quarter valued at about $2,825,000. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $138.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Duke Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $121.85.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of DUK stock opened at $109.55 on Friday. Duke Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $88.27 and a 52 week high of $121.25. 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $115.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $109.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.63 billion, a PE ratio of 20.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.47.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its 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 14.31% and a return on equity of 9.34%. The firm had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.94 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 76.84%.

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.