First United Bank & Trust Has $275,000 Stock Position in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

First United Bank & Trust raised its holdings in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 43.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,327 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 710 shares during the quarter. First United Bank & Trust’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $275,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. Activest Wealth Management increased its position in Duke Energy by 98.1% in the 1st quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 212 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 360.0% in the 1st quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 253 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American National Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Duke Energy

In related news, SVP Bonnie B. Titone sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a 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 dated 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 owned 46,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,768,397.72. This trade represents a 12.61% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

DUK opened at $122.71 on Tuesday. 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 company’s fifty day moving average price is $122.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $119.54. Duke Energy Corporation has a 1-year low of $105.20 and a 1-year high of $127.85. The company has a market cap of $95.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.95, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.39.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.25 earnings per share 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.18 EPS. Duke Energy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.170-6.420 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The company 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 is an increase 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 was Friday, August 15th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.27%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $131.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 target price on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $127.00 target price (up from $124.00) on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Raymond James Financial began coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.50.

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.