Arlington Trust Co LLC Acquires 1,263 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Arlington Trust Co LLC grew its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 380.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,595 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,263 shares during the quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $172,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in DUK. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. CGC Financial Services LLC raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 366.7% in the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 308 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares during the period. Winch Advisory Services LLC boosted 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 purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE DUK opened at $115.01 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $88.85 billion, a PE ratio of 21.14, 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 stock has a 50 day moving average of $109.73 and a 200-day moving average of $112.76. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.94 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.63%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 76.84%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Mizuho upgraded shares of Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $116.00 to $121.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.