Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Has $3.11 Million Stock Position in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management boosted its stake in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 16.6% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 26,373 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,764 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $3,112,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Activest Wealth Management grew its stake in Duke Energy by 98.1% in the 1st quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 212 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 360.0% during the 1st quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 253 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Saudi Central Bank acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DUK has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Scotiabank set a $137.00 target price on shares of Duke Energy and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $127.00 target price (up previously from $124.00) on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $127.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $131.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $132.25.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $123.58 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $122.58 and a 200-day moving average of $119.61. Duke Energy Corporation has a 1-year low of $105.20 and a 1-year high of $127.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The company has a market cap of $96.10 billion, a PE ratio of 20.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.44.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued 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). The firm had revenue of $7.51 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.07 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 15.51%.The business’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.18 EPS. Duke Energy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.170-6.420 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a $1.065 dividend. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. This is a positive change from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is currently 69.27%.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

In related news, EVP Thomas Preston Jr. Gillespie sold 6,700 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 46,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,768,397.72. This represents a 12.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Bonnie B. Titone sold 2,000 shares of the 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,438,843.04. The trade was a 9.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.