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

Kentucky Retirement Systems decreased its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm 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 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy in the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its stake in Duke Energy by 69.6% in the second quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 290 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Duke Energy during the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Sachetta LLC boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 41.9% during the 2nd quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on DUK. KeyCorp downgraded Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Bank of America boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Barclays raised their price target on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Duke Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $121.85.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of DUK stock opened at $112.16 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.70. The stock has a market cap of $86.64 billion, a PE ratio of 20.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.47. Duke Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $88.27 and a 1 year high of $121.25. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $115.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $109.19.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 EPS 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 business had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.94 earnings per share. Duke Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast 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. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.73%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is currently 76.84%.

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.