RIA Advisory Group LLC Makes New Investment in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

RIA Advisory Group 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 Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 4,531 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $522,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in DUK. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 69.6% in the 2nd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 290 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Olistico Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the second quarter worth about $30,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 101.2% in the 1st quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 336 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 169 shares during the period. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on DUK shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Duke Energy from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Scotiabank lifted 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. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $121.85.

Duke Energy Stock Up 2.3 %

DUK stock opened at $112.17 on Friday. 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 business has a 50 day moving average of $115.40 and a 200 day moving average of $109.19. Duke Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $88.27 and a twelve month high of $121.25. The firm has a market cap of $86.65 billion, a PE ratio of 20.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.47.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly 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). 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.94 earnings per share. Duke Energy’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 76.84%.

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.