Arlington Trust Co LLC Has $172,000 Stock Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Arlington Trust Co LLC grew its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 380.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,595 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,263 shares during the period. Arlington Trust Co LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $172,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. CGC Financial Services LLC grew its position in Duke Energy by 366.7% during the fourth 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. Winch Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Duke Energy by 332.9% during the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 316 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the period. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. KeyCorp downgraded Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Mizuho upgraded shares of Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.08.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:DUK opened at $115.01 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $109.73 and its 200-day moving average is $112.76. The stock has a market cap of $88.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.50. Duke Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $90.09 and a 1-year high of $121.25. 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 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 net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 9.34%. The business had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.94 EPS. Duke Energy’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.63%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is presently 76.84%.

Duke Energy 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.