Kentucky Trust Co Purchases New Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 22,804 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,457,000. Duke Energy accounts for 1.4% of Kentucky Trust Co’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 2.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,488,176 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,016,846,000 after purchasing an additional 442,302 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 11,471.4% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 6,777,973 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $781,500,000 after acquiring an additional 6,719,398 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 2,290,641 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $264,111,000 after acquiring an additional 6,500 shares during the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,537,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 155.1% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,873,321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $201,832,000 after buying an additional 1,138,979 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Price Performance

DUK opened at $116.70 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $109.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $112.85. The firm has a market cap of $90.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.45, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.50. Duke Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $90.09 and a twelve month high of $121.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.58%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 76.84%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DUK has been the subject of several research reports. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Mizuho raised shares of Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.08.

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.