Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC Purchases 683 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 8.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,434 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 683 shares during the quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $973,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 17.4% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 10,637 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,032,000 after acquiring an additional 1,580 shares during the period. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 72.6% during the 1st quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 3,699 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $358,000 after acquiring an additional 1,556 shares during the period. Global Assets Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 1st quarter valued at $4,683,000. Finally, CGN Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 7.8% during the 1st quarter. CGN Advisors LLC now owns 22,402 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,167,000 after acquiring an additional 1,629 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DUK has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Scotiabank upped their target price on Duke Energy from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Duke Energy in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $138.00 price objective for the company. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Duke Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $121.85.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of DUK opened at $120.76 on Monday. Duke Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $85.79 and a 12-month high of $120.85. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $115.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $106.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56. The stock has a market cap of $93.20 billion, a PE ratio of 30.34, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.46.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $7.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.84 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.71% and a net margin of 14.29%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.91 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.46%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 105.03%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.64, for a total value of $61,365.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 19,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,259,617.76. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.