Kennebec Savings Bank Sells 106 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Kennebec Savings Bank decreased its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,521 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 106 shares during the quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $374,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. New Century Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy in the second quarter worth about $216,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 2nd quarter worth $12,749,000. Centaurus Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 2.0% during the second quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 5,302 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $531,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Alternative Investment Advisors LLC. bought a new stake in Duke Energy in the 2nd quarter worth about $201,000. Finally, Norman Fields Gottscho Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $215,000. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Mizuho upgraded shares of Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. KeyCorp downgraded Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Scotiabank raised their target price on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.23.

Duke Energy Stock Up 1.5 %

NYSE DUK opened at $112.28 on Friday. 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 Co. has a 12 month low of $90.09 and a 12 month high of $121.25. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $110.14 and its 200 day moving average is $112.45. The stock has a market cap of $86.73 billion, a PE ratio of 20.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.49.

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

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company 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 $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 76.84%.

About Duke Energy

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.