Duke Energy Corporation $DUK Shares Sold by Janney Montgomery Scott LLC

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC cut its stake in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 1.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 638,356 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 7,486 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC owned about 0.08% of Duke Energy worth $75,326,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Venture Visionary Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 5.4% in the second quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 6,847 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $808,000 after buying an additional 353 shares during the last quarter. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 7.7% in the second quarter. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,177 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $375,000 after buying an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the second quarter valued at about $326,000. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 5.3% in the second quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,011 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $355,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GC Wealth Management RIA LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the second quarter valued at about $569,000. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DUK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Scotiabank upped 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. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. 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. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $127.00 price objective (up previously from $124.00) on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped 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. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $131.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Thomas Preston Jr. Gillespie sold 6,700 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 46,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,768,397.72. This represents a 12.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 completion of the sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Duke Energy Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of DUK stock opened at $122.71 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.42. The firm has a market cap of $95.42 billion, a PE ratio of 19.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a 50-day moving average of $122.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $119.54. Duke Energy Corporation has a 1-year low of $105.20 and a 1-year high of $127.85.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly 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). The business had revenue of $7.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.07 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 15.51%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.18 EPS. Duke Energy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.170-6.420 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 is a boost from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.27%.

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.