Independence Bank of Kentucky Reduces Stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Independence Bank of Kentucky decreased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 2.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,977 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 137 shares during the quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $578,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in Duke Energy during the 1st quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DUK has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $103.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Barclays lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Mizuho upped their price target on Duke Energy from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 20th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $102.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy

In other news, CEO Lynn J. Good sold 15,000 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total transaction of $1,549,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 437,464 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,190,031.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Duke Energy news, Director E Marie Mckee sold 1,695 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.31, for a total transaction of $173,415.45. Following the sale, the director now owns 4 shares in the company, valued at approximately $409.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Lynn J. Good sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total value of $1,549,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 437,464 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,190,031.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 26,695 shares of company stock valued at $2,750,815. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:DUK opened at $100.23 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $101.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $97.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. The stock has a market cap of $77.35 billion, a PE ratio of 25.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.45. Duke Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $83.06 and a fifty-two week high of $104.87.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a net margin of 10.78% and a return on equity of 9.25%. The company had revenue of $7.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.20 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th were issued a dividend of $1.025 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $4.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.09%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 103.02%.

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.