Kessler Investment Group LLC Has $34,000 Stock Holdings in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK)

Kessler Investment Group LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 99.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 282 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 62,526 shares during the period. Kessler Investment Group LLC's holdings in Duke Energy were worth $34,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of DUK. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Parkworth Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 1,500.0% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 288 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DUK has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $127.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $128.00 to $123.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $127.00 price target (up previously from $126.00) on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $126.94.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DUK opened at $116.93 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.89 billion, a PE ratio of 19.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.37. Duke Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $99.21 and a twelve month high of $125.27. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $117.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $115.05.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $8.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.70 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.40% and a return on equity of 9.88%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.44 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th were issued a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.57%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. Duke Energy's payout ratio is 69.32%.

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.

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