Duke Energy Corporation $DUK Shares Acquired by Kentucky Retirement Systems

Kentucky Retirement Systems increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 19.3% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 58,288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,443 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Duke Energy were worth $7,632,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 11.6% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,754 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $728,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 19.6% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 23,162 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,825,000 after buying an additional 3,797 shares during the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. increased its position in Duke Energy by 1.0% during the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 31,238 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,686,000 after buying an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. AXA S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 523.4% in the second quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 42,233 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,983,000 after acquiring an additional 35,458 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nebula Research & Development LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the second quarter valued at $954,000. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Monday, May 4th. UBS Group reduced their price target on Duke Energy from $137.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Monday, May 11th. KeyCorp upgraded Duke Energy from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $139.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Mizuho reduced their target price on Duke Energy from $139.00 to $135.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $135.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $138.62.

Insider Transactions at Duke Energy

In related news, CEO Harry K. Sideris sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.37, for a total value of $2,487,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 96,102 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,952,205.74. This represents a 17.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Louis E. Renjel sold 3,500 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.15, for a total value of $438,025.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 21,415 shares in the company, valued at $2,680,087.25. This represents a 14.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Price Performance

DUK stock opened at $129.20 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $125.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $126.10. The firm has a market cap of $100.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.66. Duke Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $113.89 and a 1 year high of $134.49.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $0.06. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.49% and a return on equity of 9.73%. The business had revenue of $9.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.44 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.76 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a dividend of $1.085 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This is a positive change from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.06. This represents a $4.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.24%.

Duke Energy Profile

Duke Energy Corporation is a U.S.-based electric power holding company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company’s core business is the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers. Duke Energy operates a mix of regulated electric utilities and non-regulated energy businesses, providing essential energy infrastructure and services across multiple states.

Its operating activities include owning and operating generation assets across a portfolio that encompasses nuclear, natural gas, coal, hydroelectric and an expanding array of renewable resources, as well as battery storage and grid modernization projects.