Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Purchased by Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.

Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 35,296 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 213 shares during the quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $3,803,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC now owns 52,097 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,613,000 after purchasing an additional 2,705 shares during the last quarter. CCM Investment Advisers LLC raised its position in Duke Energy by 24.3% during the 4th quarter. CCM Investment Advisers LLC now owns 83,610 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,008,000 after buying an additional 16,356 shares during the last quarter. Pines Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth $1,032,000. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 296,463 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,941,000 after buying an additional 9,070 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Corundum Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $1,566,000. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

DUK stock opened at $112.14 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $110.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $112.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.62 billion, a PE ratio of 20.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.49. Duke Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $90.09 and a fifty-two week high of $121.25.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.06 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 14.31%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.94 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.91 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.73%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.84%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DUK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Mizuho upgraded Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.23.

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.