Kieckhefer Group LLC Acquires New Shares in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Kieckhefer Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 1,748 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $188,000.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the third quarter worth $29,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 334 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 82.7% in the third quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 360 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DUK traded down $0.43 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $105.44. The company had a trading volume of 616,146 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,744,388. The firm has a market cap of $81.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.38, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.70. Duke Energy Co. has a one year low of $90.09 and a one year high of $121.25. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $111.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $111.79.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($0.11). Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 14.31%. The business had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.94 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $1.045 dividend. 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 3.96%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is currently 76.84%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DUK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Duke Energy in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $138.00 price target for the company. Barclays raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. KeyCorp cut Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Mizuho raised shares of Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.23.

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.