Kennondale Capital Management LLC Takes $1.39 Million Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Kennondale Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 12,865 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,386,000. Duke Energy accounts for 1.1% of Kennondale Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of DUK. PDS Planning Inc boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 3,378 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $364,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Mystic Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. Mystic Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,229 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,318,000 after acquiring an additional 1,169 shares in the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 32,254 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,475,000 after acquiring an additional 3,042 shares in the last quarter. Argent Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Argent Advisors Inc. now owns 17,349 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,869,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aspen Wealth Strategies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. Aspen Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 5,899 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $636,000 after acquiring an additional 568 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DUK has been the subject of several research reports. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Guggenheim raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.93.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.6 %

DUK stock opened at $120.88 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. The firm has a market cap of $93.86 billion, a PE ratio of 21.17, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48. Duke Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $92.75 and a 1 year high of $121.47. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $113.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $113.52.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.50% and a net margin of 14.90%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.46%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.20%.

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.