Eliot Finkel Investment Counsel LLC Trims Position in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Eliot Finkel Investment Counsel LLC lessened its stake in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 48,449 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 685 shares during the period. Duke Energy accounts for about 3.7% of Eliot Finkel Investment Counsel LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Eliot Finkel Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $5,717,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. GQG Partners LLC grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 17,880.0% during the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 10,249,508 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,250,133,000 after acquiring an additional 10,192,503 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy during the 1st quarter worth about $702,351,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 88.1% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 4,861,309 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $592,934,000 after acquiring an additional 2,276,948 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 74,562,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,094,327,000 after acquiring an additional 1,676,061 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 359.1% during the 1st quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 1,132,613 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $138,145,000 after acquiring an additional 885,900 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Thomas Preston Jr. Gillespie sold 6,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.26, for a total transaction of $832,542.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 46,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,768,397.72. This trade represents a 12.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Bonnie B. Titone sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.38, for a total transaction of $248,760.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 19,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,438,843.04. This represents a 9.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $123.58 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $96.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.09, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $122.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $119.62. Duke Energy Corporation has a 52 week low of $105.20 and a 52 week high of $127.85.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.29 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $7.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.07 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.51% and a return on equity of 9.85%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.18 earnings per share. Duke Energy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.170-6.420 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were given a $1.065 dividend. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. This is an increase from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 69.27%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DUK has been the topic of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 target price on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $131.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Saturday, September 27th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $127.00 price target (up from $124.00) on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Scotiabank set a $137.00 price target on shares of Duke Energy and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $132.25.

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.