Kentucky Retirement Systems Raises Stock Position in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Kentucky Retirement Systems lifted its position in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 19.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. 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 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in DUK. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 78,258,757 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,172,709,000 after acquiring an additional 1,957,592 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Duke Energy by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,292,633 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,266,675,000 after acquiring an additional 230,375 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,931,127 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,046,818,000 after purchasing an additional 58,375 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,236,893 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $965,446,000 after acquiring an additional 954,907 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Duke Energy by 0.4% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,758,700 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $960,139,000 after acquiring an additional 31,703 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $137.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Mizuho decreased their price target on Duke Energy from $139.00 to $135.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $135.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $143.00 to $134.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, KeyCorp raised shares of Duke Energy from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $139.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $138.62.

Duke Energy Price Performance

NYSE:DUK opened at $129.20 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.66. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $125.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $126.10. The stock has a market cap of $100.73 billion, a PE ratio of 19.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.38. Duke Energy Corporation has a one year low of $113.89 and a one 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 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.06. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.49% and a return on equity of 9.73%. The firm had revenue of $9.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.76 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.72 EPS 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.085 per share. This is a boost from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.06. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $4.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.24%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

About Duke Energy

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.