Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. Acquires 985 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 45,232 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 985 shares during the period. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $5,215,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Goodman Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the second quarter worth approximately $2,888,000. Commerce Bank lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 269,217 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,041,000 after buying an additional 15,069 shares in the last quarter. PrairieView Partners LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at $501,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1,258.1% in the 3rd quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 49,341 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,689,000 after buying an additional 45,708 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 158.9% during the third quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC now owns 8,483 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $978,000 after acquiring an additional 5,206 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DUK has been the topic of several recent research reports. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $121.69.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:DUK opened at $117.05 on Monday. Duke Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $90.09 and a 1-year high of $121.25. 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 $90.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.52, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.47. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $115.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $110.29.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) 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 last year, the business earned $1.94 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.57%. The ex-dividend date 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.