Alternative Investment Advisors LLC. Has $252,000 Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Alternative Investment Advisors LLC. grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 9.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,190 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 188 shares during the quarter. Alternative Investment Advisors LLC.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $252,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in DUK. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Sachetta LLC raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 41.9% during the 2nd quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Duke Energy by 100.0% during the third 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $138.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America raised their target price on Duke Energy from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.23.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:DUK traded up $0.54 on Friday, reaching $109.70. 1,289,580 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,047,206. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $114.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $110.75. Duke Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $90.09 and a 52 week high of $121.25. 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 firm has a market cap of $84.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.47.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted 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). Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 14.31%. The company had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.94 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders 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 3.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 76.84%.

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.