Kentucky Retirement Systems Trims Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Kentucky Retirement Systems cut its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 53,782 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 4,376 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Duke Energy were worth $6,201,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. Northcape Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 2.3% in the third quarter. Northcape Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,818 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,593,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares during the period. Bank of Marin acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $209,000. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 16,601 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,914,000 after buying an additional 1,432 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC grew its position in Duke Energy by 2.2% during the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 26,490 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,054,000 after acquiring an additional 564 shares during the period. Finally, Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Duke Energy by 6.8% during the third quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,194 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $368,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on DUK. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. KeyCorp cut shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $121.85.

Duke Energy Price Performance

DUK stock opened at $112.16 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $86.64 billion, a PE ratio of 20.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $115.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $109.19. Duke Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $88.27 and a 52-week high of $121.25.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted 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). The company had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.06 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 9.34%. The company’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.94 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 76.84%.

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.