Duke Energy Corporation $DUK Shares Purchased by Pegasus Asset Management Inc.

Pegasus Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 2.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 36,667 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 751 shares during the period. Duke Energy comprises 1.5% of Pegasus Asset Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. Pegasus Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $4,327,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 2.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 74,562,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,094,327,000 after purchasing an additional 1,676,061 shares in the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 17,880.0% in the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 10,249,508 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,250,133,000 after buying an additional 10,192,503 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in Duke Energy by 4.9% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 8,921,517 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,088,158,000 after purchasing an additional 418,014 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in 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 valued at $1,055,087,000 after purchasing an additional 93,699 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Duke Energy by 1.9% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 8,153,615 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $994,496,000 after purchasing an additional 152,542 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DUK has been the subject of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Duke Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $141.00 to $134.00 in a report on Friday, September 26th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $127.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Scotiabank set a $137.00 price objective on shares of Duke Energy and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $127.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $134.08.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of DUK opened at $126.88 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $98.66 billion, a PE ratio of 20.63, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.44. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $123.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $119.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.66. Duke Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $105.20 and a twelve month high of $127.85.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.29 by ($0.04). The business 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%. Duke Energy’s revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.18 EPS. Duke Energy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.170-6.420 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. This is a boost 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 firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.38, for a total value of $248,760.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 19,608 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,438,843.04. This trade represents a 9.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Thomas Preston Jr. Gillespie sold 6,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.26, for a total transaction of $832,542.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 46,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,768,397.72. The trade was a 12.61% decrease in their position. 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.