Retirement Planning Group LLC Makes New Investment in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Retirement Planning Group LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 20,649 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,555,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 1.5% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,716,783 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,934,580,000 after buying an additional 1,154,783 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,684,447 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,205,070,000 after acquiring an additional 319,001 shares in the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 11,417.7% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 17,668,789 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,084,917,000 after acquiring an additional 17,515,383 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 0.4% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,691,150 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,025,244,000 after acquiring an additional 34,906 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 3.5% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 6,338,489 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $747,942,000 after purchasing an additional 216,541 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on DUK. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $132.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. BTIG Research raised Duke Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Cowen started coverage on Duke Energy in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley set a $126.00 target price on Duke Energy in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Duke Energy from $138.00 to $126.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $136.50.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.5%

DUK stock opened at $117.32 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.23 billion, a PE ratio of 18.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. Duke Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $105.61 and a twelve month high of $130.03. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $119.24 and its 200-day moving average is $121.38.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.06. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.98% and a net margin of 15.76%.The business had revenue of $8.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.62 EPS. Duke Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th will be issued a $1.065 dividend. This represents a $4.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 13th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 66.98%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Robert Alexander Glenn sold 8,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.80, for a total transaction of $1,015,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 11,367 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,407,234.60. This trade represents a 41.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

About Duke Energy

Duke Energy Corporation is a U.S.-based electric power holding company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company’s core business is the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers. Duke Energy operates a mix of regulated electric utilities and non-regulated energy businesses, providing essential energy infrastructure and services across multiple states.

Its operating activities include owning and operating generation assets across a portfolio that encompasses nuclear, natural gas, coal, hydroelectric and an expanding array of renewable resources, as well as battery storage and grid modernization projects.