L.M. Kohn & Company Purchases 317 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

L.M. Kohn & Company boosted its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 4.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 7,185 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the period. L.M. Kohn & Company’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $774,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of DUK. Creative Planning raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 9.3% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 304,434 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $35,101,000 after buying an additional 25,937 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 98,182 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $11,320,000 after acquiring an additional 1,441 shares during the period. LexAurum Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $216,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 5.1% during the third quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 7,137 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $823,000 after purchasing an additional 344 shares during the period. Finally, Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy in the third quarter worth $260,000. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Duke Energy Trading Down 2.0 %

DUK stock opened at $111.69 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $109.85 and a 200-day moving average of $112.96. The company has a market cap of $86.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.53, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.50. Duke Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $90.09 and a twelve month high of $121.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55.

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

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DUK has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. KeyCorp cut Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target 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 assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.08.

About Duke Energy

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.