ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC Acquires 12,353 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 12.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 115,646 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,353 shares during the period. Duke Energy comprises 1.7% of ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $11,222,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Legacy Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy during the third quarter worth about $45,000. Fortis Group Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $50,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth $71,000. PFS Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 145.0% during the fourth quarter. PFS Partners LLC now owns 735 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 435 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Operose Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 263.2% in the third quarter. Operose Advisors LLC now owns 868 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $77,000 after buying an additional 629 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.57, for a total value of $277,710.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,213 shares in the company, valued at $1,315,697.41. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Duke Energy from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $101.00 to $113.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $101.00 to $94.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Evercore ISI upgraded Duke Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $90.00 to $108.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Barclays upped their price target on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Duke Energy from $103.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 9th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $100.62.

Duke Energy Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE DUK traded up $0.95 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $100.26. 4,338,461 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,636,808. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.49. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $83.06 and a 12 month high of $100.56. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $95.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $94.09. The company has a market capitalization of $77.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.45.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by ($0.02). Duke Energy had a net margin of 9.78% and a return on equity of 8.93%. The business had revenue of $7.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.24 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.11 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.98 EPS for the current year.

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.