B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. Reduces Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 5.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 71,669 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,933 shares during the quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $8,278,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in DUK. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. grew its stake in Duke Energy by 21.7% in the second quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. now owns 6,150 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $616,000 after purchasing an additional 1,097 shares in the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 34.9% in the 2nd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 2,426 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $243,000 after acquiring an additional 628 shares during the last quarter. TCW Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 10,799 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,082,000 after acquiring an additional 414 shares in the last quarter. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 3.2% in the second quarter. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 135,476 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $13,579,000 after purchasing an additional 4,145 shares during the period. Finally, Williams Financial LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy during the second quarter valued at $593,000. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on DUK shares. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Mizuho upgraded Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Bank of America increased their price target on Duke Energy from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their target price on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.23.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DUK opened at $108.81 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $114.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $110.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The stock has a market cap of $84.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.00, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.47. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $90.09 and a 12 month high of $121.25.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.94 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.