American National Bank & Trust Buys 3,327 Shares of Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

American National Bank & Trust increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 1,120.2% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,624 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,327 shares during the quarter. American National Bank & Trust’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $428,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Old North State Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Duke Energy by 4.2% in the second quarter. Old North State Wealth Management LLC now owns 27,755 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,279,000 after purchasing an additional 1,116 shares during the last quarter. Banque Pictet & Cie SA boosted its position in Duke Energy by 1.3% in the second quarter. Banque Pictet & Cie SA now owns 30,400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,587,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Duke Energy by 10.0% in the second quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,012 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,653,000 after purchasing an additional 1,275 shares during the last quarter. Maridea Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy in the second quarter worth $1,046,000. Finally, Castleview Partners LLC boosted its position in Duke Energy by 12.3% in the second quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 2,264 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $267,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $131.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 price objective on Duke Energy in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $127.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price target on Duke Energy from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $131.00.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE DUK opened at $122.99 on Friday. 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 Corporation has a one year low of $105.20 and a one year high of $127.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $95.64 billion, a PE ratio of 20.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.39. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $122.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $119.50.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 15.51% and a return on equity of 9.85%. The company had revenue of $7.51 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.18 earnings per share. The business’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. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 EPS for the current 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 dividend of $1.065 per share. This represents a $4.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. This is a positive change from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.27%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Thomas Preston Jr. Gillespie sold 6,700 shares of the business’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 sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Bonnie B. Titone sold 2,000 shares of the business’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. The trade was a 9.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.