Fox Hill Wealth Management Boosts Stake in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Fox Hill Wealth Management grew its stake in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 4.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,157 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,112 shares during the period. Duke Energy accounts for 1.7% of Fox Hill Wealth Management’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Fox Hill Wealth Management’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $3,322,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Activest Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 98.1% during the first quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 212 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the first quarter worth $27,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the first quarter worth $27,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DUK has been the subject of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $131.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Friday, June 13th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 price objective on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $130.62.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Thomas Preston Jr. Gillespie sold 6,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.26, for a total transaction of $832,542.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 46,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,768,397.72. The trade was a 12.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Bonnie B. Titone sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.38, for a total transaction of $248,760.00. Following 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Duke Energy Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE DUK opened at $121.96 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $121.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $119.16. Duke Energy Corporation has a 52-week low of $105.20 and a 52-week high of $127.85. The firm has a market cap of $94.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.29 by ($0.04). Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.51% and a return on equity of 9.85%. The company had revenue of $7.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.18 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Duke Energy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.170-6.420 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a $1.065 dividend. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. This is a positive change from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.27%.

Duke Energy Company 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.