Trust Investment Advisors Buys 1,563 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Trust Investment Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 12.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,637 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,563 shares during the period. Trust Investment Advisors’ holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,469,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Parkworth Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Duke Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its stake in Duke Energy by 1,500.0% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CGC Financial Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 366.7% in the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 308 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on DUK shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Scotiabank boosted 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. Finally, Guggenheim upped their target price on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $123.87.

Duke Energy Price Performance

DUK opened at $116.10 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $90.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.33, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. Duke Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $92.75 and a 12-month high of $121.47. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $114.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $113.65.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.90% and a return on equity of 9.50%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.60%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.20%.

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.