Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. Buys 213 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 35,296 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the period. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $3,803,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of DUK. PBMares Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Duke Energy by 1.8% during the third quarter. PBMares Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,886 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $563,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Castleview Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 4.9% in the third quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 1,944 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $224,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC now owns 6,591 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $760,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the period. Baron Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,730 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $315,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chicago Capital LLC raised its stake in Duke Energy by 0.9% in the third quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 10,163 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,172,000 after buying an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Down 0.1 %

DUK stock opened at $112.14 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $110.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $112.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.70 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 company has a market cap of $86.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.61, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.49.

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

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 76.84%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.