Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Sold by Kentucky Retirement Systems

Kentucky Retirement Systems decreased its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 5.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 58,552 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,113 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Duke Energy were worth $5,663,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in Duke Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $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 purchased a new stake in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in Duke Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DUK has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $99.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $110.00 to $109.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Scotiabank cut their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $101.00 to $94.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $102.58.

Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy

In other Duke Energy news, CEO Lynn J. Good sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were 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 directly owns 437,464 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,190,031.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director E Marie Mckee sold 1,695 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.31, for a total transaction of $173,415.45. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4 shares in the company, valued at $409.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Lynn J. Good sold 15,000 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 437,464 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,190,031.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 26,695 shares of company stock worth $2,750,815. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of DUK traded up $0.47 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $108.03. The company had a trading volume of 2,270,522 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,489,480. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $102.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $98.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. The company has a market capitalization of $83.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.14, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.45. Duke Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $83.06 and a 12-month high of $110.02.

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

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be issued a dividend of $1.045 per share. This is an increase from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.87%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 103.02%.

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.