Kessler Investment Group LLC Increases Stock Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Kessler Investment Group LLC raised its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 62,808 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 223 shares during the quarter. Duke Energy makes up 3.2% of Kessler Investment Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Kessler Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $6,767,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 11,471.4% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 6,777,973 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $781,500,000 after acquiring an additional 6,719,398 shares in the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,537,000. Zimmer Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $166,263,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 155.1% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,873,321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $201,832,000 after acquiring an additional 1,138,979 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 13,829.1% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,125,607 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $129,782,000 after acquiring an additional 1,117,526 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on DUK. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Scotiabank upped their target price on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. KeyCorp lowered Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. 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 research note on Friday, November 22nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.08.

Duke Energy Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of DUK opened at $111.69 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $109.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $112.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.70. The company has a market capitalization of $86.27 billion, a PE ratio of 20.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.50. Duke Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $90.09 and a fifty-two week high of $121.25.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 14.31%. As a group, analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.91 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.74%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 76.84%.

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.