Armstrong Fleming & Moore Inc Buys 173 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Armstrong Fleming & Moore Inc increased its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 9.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,062 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 173 shares during the quarter. Armstrong Fleming & Moore Inc’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $222,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. CGC Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 366.7% during the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 308 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 332.9% during the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 316 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the period. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Duke Energy in the third quarter worth $38,000. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on DUK. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective 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. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $121.62.

Duke Energy Trading Up 1.2 %

NYSE DUK opened at $117.29 on Wednesday. Duke Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $90.09 and a 52 week high of $121.25. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $110.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $113.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. The firm has a market cap of $90.61 billion, a PE ratio of 20.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.50.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.50% and a net margin of 14.90%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.20%.

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.