Ausbil Investment Management Ltd Buys Shares of 44,190 Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Ausbil Investment Management Ltd bought a new stake in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 44,190 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,214,000. Duke Energy comprises approximately 3.1% of Ausbil Investment Management Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest holding.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in DUK. GQG Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 17,880.0% during the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 10,249,508 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,250,133,000 after purchasing an additional 10,192,503 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the first quarter worth about $702,351,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 88.1% during the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 4,861,309 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $592,934,000 after purchasing an additional 2,276,948 shares in the last quarter. 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. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 14,268.8% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,663,183 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $202,858,000 after purchasing an additional 1,651,608 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $122.99 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $95.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.39. Duke Energy Corporation has a 52 week low of $105.20 and a 52 week high of $127.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $122.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $119.52.

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

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th were given a dividend of $1.065 per share. This represents a $4.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. This is a boost from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 69.27%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on DUK. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $131.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $127.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Scotiabank raised their target price 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. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $127.00 target price (up previously from $124.00) on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Raymond James Financial started coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Friday, June 13th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Bonnie B. Titone sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.38, for a total transaction of $248,760.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly 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 link. Also, EVP Thomas Preston Jr. Gillespie sold 6,700 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 46,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,768,397.72. This trade represents a 12.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

About Duke Energy

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.