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

Kennondale Capital Management LLC bought 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 & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 12,865 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,386,000. Duke Energy makes up about 1.1% of Kennondale Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of DUK. Groupama Asset Managment acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the third quarter valued at about $2,537,000. Zimmer Partners LP purchased a new position in Duke Energy in the third quarter valued at about $166,263,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 155.1% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,873,321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $201,832,000 after purchasing an additional 1,138,979 shares during the last quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 116.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 2,065,344 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $222,520,000 after purchasing an additional 1,111,581 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 29.2% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,488,849 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $269,368,000 after purchasing an additional 561,784 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on DUK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Guggenheim increased their target price on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price 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. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.93.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.6 %

DUK opened at $120.88 on Tuesday. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $92.75 and a 12 month high of $121.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The stock has a market cap of $93.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $113.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $113.52.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, research analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

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

Duke Energy Company 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.