Valmark Advisers Inc. Purchases 224 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Valmark Advisers Inc. boosted its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,993 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,077,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of DUK. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the third quarter worth $29,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. CGC Financial Services LLC increased its position in Duke Energy by 366.7% during the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 308 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Duke Energy by 332.9% during the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 316 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DUK opened at $111.69 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.53, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.50. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $90.09 and a 12 month high of $121.25. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $109.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $113.01. 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 (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 9.34%. Analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.91 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.74%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is currently 76.84%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. KeyCorp downgraded Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Scotiabank upped their target price on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Duke Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.08.

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.