Duke Energy Corporation $DUK Stock Holdings Lifted by CHICAGO TRUST Co NA

CHICAGO TRUST Co NA raised its position in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 69.6% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 10,221 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,193 shares during the quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,206,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Activest Wealth Management grew 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 valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on 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 price target on Duke Energy in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Scotiabank upped their price target on Duke Energy from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Duke Energy from $131.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $130.62.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 stock was sold at an average price of $124.26, for a total transaction of $832,542.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 46,422 shares in the company, valued at $5,768,397.72. This represents a 12.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Bonnie B. Titone sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of DUK opened at $121.71 on Tuesday. 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $121.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $119.38. The stock has a market cap of $94.65 billion, a PE ratio of 19.79, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.39.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by ($0.04). Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 15.51%.The company had revenue of $7.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.18 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Duke Energy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.170-6.420 EPS. On average, sell-side 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 was paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a $1.065 dividend. This represents a $4.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. This is a boost from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is currently 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.