Independence Bank of Kentucky Has $665,000 Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Independence Bank of Kentucky cut its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 1.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,767 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 110 shares during the quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $665,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of DUK. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy in the first quarter worth $25,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 69.6% in the 2nd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 290 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in Duke Energy in the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Olistico Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy during the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Cedar Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 101.2% in the first quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 336 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of DUK opened at $114.18 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $114.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $105.88. Duke Energy Co. has a one year low of $85.79 and a one year high of $118.31. The company has a market capitalization of $88.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.03, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.53.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.16. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.29% and a return on equity of 9.71%. The business had revenue of $7.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.84 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.91 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.64, for a total value of $61,365.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,884 shares in the company, valued at $2,259,617.76. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $138.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. KeyCorp upped their price target on Duke Energy from $121.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $120.15.

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.