L.M. Kohn & Company Has $792,000 Stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

L.M. Kohn & Company raised its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 11.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,868 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 678 shares during the quarter. L.M. Kohn & Company’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $792,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of DUK. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in Duke Energy by 9.4% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 108,819 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,520,000 after buying an additional 9,334 shares during the period. Goodman Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the second quarter worth $2,888,000. Commerce Bank raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 5.9% during the third quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 269,217 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,041,000 after acquiring an additional 15,069 shares in the last quarter. PrairieView Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy during the second quarter valued at $501,000. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd grew its stake in Duke Energy by 1,258.1% in the third quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 49,341 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,689,000 after purchasing an additional 45,708 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

DUK opened at $117.12 on Friday. Duke Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $90.09 and a 12-month high of $121.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.47. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $115.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $110.18. 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 (NYSE:DUK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by ($0.11). Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 14.31%. The company had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.06 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.94 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.57%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 76.84%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DUK has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of 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, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $138.00 target price on the stock. Six research 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 company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $121.69.

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.