Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Grows Holdings in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky grew its stake in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 4.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 59,643 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 2,432 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky's holdings in Duke Energy were worth $7,275,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in DUK. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 154.6% in the 1st quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 93,930 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $11,457,000 after buying an additional 57,044 shares during the period. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $282,000. Counterweight Ventures LLC raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Counterweight Ventures LLC now owns 24,579 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,998,000 after buying an additional 471 shares during the period. Berkeley Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. Berkeley Capital Partners LLC now owns 21,955 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,678,000 after buying an additional 996 shares during the period. Finally, Calton & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $8,632,000. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DUK has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Duke Energy from $125.00 to $124.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $130.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Duke Energy from $128.00 to $123.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 price objective on Duke Energy in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Duke Energy from $127.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Duke Energy has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $127.25.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of DUK stock opened at $119.77 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $116.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $116.14. The stock has a market cap of $93.09 billion, a PE ratio of 19.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.37. Duke Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $105.20 and a 1 year high of $125.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 0.77.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.88% and a net margin of 15.40%. The company had revenue of $8.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.44 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 earnings per share 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.065 per share. This is a boost from Duke Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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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