MQS Management LLC Buys New Holdings in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

MQS Management LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 4,087 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $482,000.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 9.9% in the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 127,419 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $14,451,000 after purchasing an additional 11,445 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 8.1% during the first quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. now owns 51,354 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,264,000 after acquiring an additional 3,837 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 1.1% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,656,244 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,055,087,000 after acquiring an additional 93,699 shares during the period. Resolution Capital Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 7.6% during the first quarter. Resolution Capital Ltd now owns 59,995 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,318,000 after acquiring an additional 4,255 shares during the period. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 2.2% during the first quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 234,464 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,598,000 after acquiring an additional 4,948 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on DUK. BTIG Research upgraded Duke Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Scotiabank set a $137.00 price objective on Duke Energy and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Cowen began coverage on Duke Energy in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $131.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $134.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $138.36.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.1%

NYSE DUK opened at $127.41 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. Duke Energy Corporation has a 1-year low of $105.20 and a 1-year high of $130.03. The company has a 50 day moving average of $123.71 and a 200-day moving average of $120.47. The company has a market cap of $99.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.72, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.44.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by ($0.04). Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.51% and a return on equity of 9.85%. The business had revenue of $7.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.18 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Duke Energy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.170-6.420 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 14th will be paid a $1.065 dividend. This represents a $4.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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