Kettle Hill Capital Management LLC Makes New $12.55 Million Investment in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Key Points

• Kettle Hill Capital Management LLC acquired 102,921 shares of Duke Energy Corporation, worth approximately $12.55 million, making it the firm's 11th largest position at 3.4% of their portfolio.
• Duke Energy's quarterly dividend was recently increased to $1.065 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 3.5%, with the next payment scheduled for September 16th.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” for Duke Energy, with a current price target averaging $130.62 and several firms increasing their price objectives for the stock.

Kettle Hill Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 102,921 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $12,553,000. Duke Energy makes up 3.4% of Kettle Hill Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 11.6% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,754 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $728,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. FORA Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $312,000. First Manhattan CO. LLC. increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 52.3% in the fourth quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC. now owns 17,102 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,006,000 after purchasing an additional 5,871 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co now owns 11,287 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,216,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ethic Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 69.1% in the fourth quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 9,594 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,034,000 after purchasing an additional 3,919 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 price target on Duke Energy in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Duke Energy from $127.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Barclays raised their target price on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on Duke Energy in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They set a "market perform" rating for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Duke Energy from $131.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $130.62.

Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy

In other news, EVP Thomas Preston Jr. Gillespie sold 6,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.26, for a total transaction of $832,542.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 46,422 shares in the company, valued at $5,768,397.72. This trade represents a 12.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Bonnie B. Titone sold 2,000 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.38, for a total value of $248,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 19,608 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,438,843.04. This trade represents a 9.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of DUK traded up $0.22 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $120.39. 2,168,196 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,512,505. Duke Energy Corporation has a 52-week low of $105.20 and a 52-week high of $127.85. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $121.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $119.04. The firm has a market cap of $93.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.66.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.29 by ($0.04). Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 15.51%.The firm had revenue of $7.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.18 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Duke Energy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.170-6.420 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $1.065 per share. This is an increase from Duke Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.27%.

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.