ERTS Wealth Advisors LLC Has $397,000 Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

ERTS Wealth Advisors LLC trimmed its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 5.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,682 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 197 shares during the period. ERTS Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $397,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 332.9% during the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 316 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the third quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Duke Energy by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 334 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Up 1.3 %

NYSE DUK opened at $110.73 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $85.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.35, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.49. Duke Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $90.09 and a 1-year high of $121.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The company has a 50 day moving average of $110.38 and a 200-day moving average of $112.19.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share 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 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 company posted $1.94 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is presently 76.84%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on DUK shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. KeyCorp cut shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Mizuho raised shares of Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Six research 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 company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.23.

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.