Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. Has $689,000 Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. lessened its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,398 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 218 shares during the quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $689,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 11,471.4% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 6,777,973 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $781,500,000 after buying an additional 6,719,398 shares during the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment bought a new stake in Duke Energy during the third quarter worth about $2,537,000. Zimmer Partners LP bought a new position in Duke Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $166,263,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 155.1% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,873,321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $201,832,000 after purchasing an additional 1,138,979 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 13,829.1% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,125,607 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $129,782,000 after purchasing an additional 1,117,526 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Down 0.4 %

DUK opened at $106.39 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.70. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $110.73 and a 200-day moving average of $111.87. Duke Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $90.09 and a fifty-two week high of $121.25. The company has a market capitalization of $82.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.49.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 9.34%. The business had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.94 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.95 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.93%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 76.84%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $138.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Barclays raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Mizuho raised Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Six 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, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.23.

Duke Energy Company 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.