MidFirst Bank acquired a new position in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK – Free Report) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 17,445 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,045,000.
Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 11.6% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,754 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $728,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 19.6% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 23,162 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,825,000 after acquiring an additional 3,797 shares in the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 31,238 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,686,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares during the last quarter. AXA S.A. boosted its position in Duke Energy by 523.4% during the second quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 42,233 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,983,000 after purchasing an additional 35,458 shares during the period. Finally, Nebula Research & Development LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy during the second quarter valued at approximately $954,000. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of research firms have recently commented on DUK. Evercore lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $139.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $143.00 to $138.00 in a report on Monday, May 11th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $143.00 to $134.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Capitol Sec Mgt downgraded Duke Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $138.07.
Duke Energy Stock Up 0.1%
DUK opened at $123.84 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $125.59 and a 200-day moving average of $124.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $96.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.97 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45. Duke Energy Corporation has a 1-year low of $113.89 and a 1-year high of $134.49.
Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $9.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.44 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.49% and a return on equity of 9.73%. Duke Energy’s revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.76 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.71 earnings per share for the current year.
Duke Energy Dividend Announcement
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $1.065 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is presently 65.24%.
Insider Transactions at Duke Energy
In related news, CEO Harry K. Sideris sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.37, for a total transaction of $2,487,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 96,102 shares in the company, valued at $11,952,205.74. The trade was a 17.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Louis E. Renjel sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.15, for a total value of $438,025.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 21,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,680,087.25. This trade represents a 14.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
Duke Energy News Roundup
Here are the key news stories impacting Duke Energy this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Mizuho trimmed its price target on Duke Energy to $135 from $139, but kept an Outperform rating, still implying upside from current levels. Street Insider article
- Positive Sentiment: Investor-focused coverage highlighted Duke Energy as one of several utility stocks offering long-term passive income appeal, reinforcing the stock’s defensive, income-oriented profile. 247WallSt article
- Neutral Sentiment: Duke Energy’s safety demonstration for Pinellas County law enforcement was a routine community/outreach event, with limited direct impact on earnings or valuation. Yahoo News article
- Neutral Sentiment: Power outages and restorations in local service areas, including reports of customers temporarily without electricity, are operational headlines that may create short-term noise but do not by themselves change the investment thesis. MSN article
- Neutral Sentiment: Regulatory and local-government coverage, including a commissioner being barred from a planning vote and Clearwater’s review of Duke Energy property, adds uncertainty around future utility planning and municipal relations, but the near-term stock impact is unclear. Yahoo News article
- Negative Sentiment: Coverage noting that Duke Energy declined more than the market in the latest session may be reinforcing bearish trading momentum in the shares. Yahoo Finance article
- Negative Sentiment: A pro-coal state regulator stepping away from Duke Energy carbon plan decisions could increase uncertainty around the company’s long-term generation strategy and regulatory process. WFAE article
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.
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