Lifeworks Advisors LLC Buys New Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Lifeworks Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 2,040 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $235,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of DUK. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 70,675,702 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,835,047,000 after buying an additional 324,289 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in Duke Energy by 3.2% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,493,340 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,111,521,000 after acquiring an additional 352,320 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 11,471.4% during the 3rd 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. increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 1.7% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,471,035 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $247,672,000 after purchasing an additional 40,243 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 813,744 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $110.68 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $115.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $109.08. Duke Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $88.27 and a 12-month 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 $85.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.35, a PEG 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 the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.06 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 9.34%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.94 earnings per share. 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.78%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 76.84%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on DUK shares. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $138.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. KeyCorp cut shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. 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 research report on Monday, August 12th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.