Paradigm Capital Management LLC NV Takes $758,000 Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Paradigm Capital Management LLC NV purchased a new stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 6,571 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $758,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 11,471.4% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 6,777,973 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $781,500,000 after purchasing an additional 6,719,398 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 2,290,641 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $264,111,000 after acquiring an additional 6,500 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 65.7% in the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 2,052,969 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $205,769,000 after acquiring an additional 813,744 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 15.2% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,816,758 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $182,101,000 after acquiring an additional 240,136 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Duke Energy Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of DUK stock opened at $117.05 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.42 billion, a PE ratio of 21.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.70. Duke Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $90.09 and a 1 year high of $121.25. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $115.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $110.24.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.94 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.96 EPS 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 issued a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.57%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 76.84%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on DUK shares. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, 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 report on Monday, August 12th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $121.69.

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.