USA Financial Formulas Acquires Shares of 10,302 Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

USA Financial Formulas acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 10,302 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,216,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Toth Financial Advisory Corp lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 31.6% during the 1st quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 346 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. now owns 1,827 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $223,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,034 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $370,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Lokken Investment Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Lokken Investment Group LLC now owns 2,633 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $321,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sheets Smith Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management now owns 27,517 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,356,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:DUK opened at $122.42 on Thursday. Duke Energy Corporation has a 52-week low of $105.20 and a 52-week high of $127.85. The stock has a market cap of $95.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.91, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.44. 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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $122.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $119.59.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 15.51%.The firm had revenue of $7.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.18 earnings per share. The company’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. Equities analysts predict that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other Duke Energy news, 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 value of $832,542.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 46,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,768,397.72. This trade 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 is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 value 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. The trade was a 9.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on DUK. Barclays increased their price target on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Raymond James Financial began coverage on Duke Energy in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $127.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Scotiabank increased their price target on Duke Energy from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Duke Energy from $131.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.