Baron Wealth Management LLC Has $315,000 Stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Baron Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 3.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,730 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $315,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in Duke Energy by 9.4% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 108,819 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,520,000 after acquiring an additional 9,334 shares during the period. Goodman Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,888,000. PrairieView Partners LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $501,000. Marshall Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 158.9% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,203,916 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $116,431,000 after purchasing an additional 16,735 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on DUK shares. Bank of America boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Mizuho upgraded Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. 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 research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped 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. Six equities 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, Duke Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $121.85.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of DUK opened at $113.57 on Tuesday. Duke Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $88.27 and a 12-month high of $121.25. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $115.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $109.43. 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 stock has a market cap of $87.73 billion, a PE ratio of 20.88, a PEG ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.47.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued 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 return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 14.31%. The firm had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.94 EPS. Duke Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.68%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 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.