Kentucky Retirement Systems Sells 394 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Kentucky Retirement Systems cut its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 58,158 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 394 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Duke Energy were worth $5,829,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 435,157 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,084,000 after purchasing an additional 13,406 shares in the last quarter. Duality Advisers LP boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 57.8% in the 1st quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 27,071 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,618,000 after purchasing an additional 9,917 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 182.5% in the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 39,014 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,786,000 after purchasing an additional 25,203 shares in the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 63.8% in the 1st quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 44,710 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,324,000 after purchasing an additional 17,420 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Waterloo Capital L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $254,000. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Duke Energy Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE:DUK opened at $115.14 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $88.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.47. Duke Energy Co. has a one year low of $83.06 and a one year high of $118.31. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $112.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $103.66.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $7.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.84 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.29% and a return on equity of 9.71%. Duke Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.91 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th were issued a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.63%. This is an increase from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 105.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy

In other news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.64, for a total transaction of $61,365.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,884 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,259,617.76. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DUK has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $138.00 price objective for the company. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $117.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $116.36.

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.