4,531 Shares in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Purchased by RIA Advisory Group LLC

RIA Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 4,531 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $522,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings 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 worth $10,520,000 after purchasing an additional 9,334 shares during the last quarter. Goodman Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the second quarter worth $2,888,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Duke Energy during the first quarter valued at $1,396,000. PrairieView Partners LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy in the second quarter valued at about $501,000. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Duke Energy by 362.7% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 27,543 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,664,000 after purchasing an additional 21,590 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

DUK opened at $112.17 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.45. Duke Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $88.27 and a 1 year high of $121.25. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $115.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $109.19. The stock has a market cap of $86.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.47.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.06 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 14.31%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.94 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.73%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 76.84%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $121.85.

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.