Archer Investment Corp Has $841,000 Stock Holdings in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK)

Archer Investment Corp trimmed its holdings in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 2.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,898 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 190 shares during the quarter. Archer Investment Corp’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $841,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in DUK. Bcwm LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $9,815,000. Investment Management Corp of Ontario increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 212.8% in the 4th quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 79,989 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,618,000 after acquiring an additional 54,413 shares during the last quarter. Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 338.6% in the 1st quarter. Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 37,763 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,606,000 after acquiring an additional 29,153 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 7.7% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 291,667 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $35,575,000 after acquiring an additional 20,942 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 9.9% in the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 127,419 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $14,451,000 after acquiring an additional 11,445 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Duke Energy stock traded up $1.60 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $119.06. 545,079 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,454,332. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $116.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $115.95. Duke Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $105.20 and a fifty-two week high of $125.27. The stock has a market cap of $92.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.50.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.17. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.88% and a net margin of 15.40%. The business had revenue of $8.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.44 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $1.065 per share. This is a boost from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.58%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DUK has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Duke Energy from $125.00 to $124.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Barclays lowered their price target on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $122.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Raymond James Financial began coverage on Duke Energy in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Duke Energy from $130.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $127.25.

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.