Simplicity Wealth LLC Boosts Stock Position in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Simplicity Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 130.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 16,693 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,455 shares during the period. Simplicity Wealth LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,970,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Duke Energy Price Performance

DUK opened at $123.58 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $96.10 billion, a PE ratio of 20.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.44. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $122.58 and a 200-day moving average price 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.42.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 15.51% and a return on equity of 9.85%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.18 earnings per share. Duke Energy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.170-6.420 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a dividend of $1.065 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. This is a positive change from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.27%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Bonnie B. Titone sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.38, for a total value of $248,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 19,608 shares in the company, valued at $2,438,843.04. The trade was a 9.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Thomas Preston Jr. Gillespie sold 6,700 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.26, for a total value of $832,542.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 46,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,768,397.72. The trade was a 12.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on DUK shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $127.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 target price on Duke Energy in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Duke Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $141.00 to $134.00 in a research report on Friday, September 26th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $127.00 price objective (up previously from $124.00) on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped 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 report on Thursday, September 25th. Nine 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 stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $132.25.

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.