Duke Energy Corporation $DUK Shares Bought by Mechanics Financial Corp

Mechanics Financial Corp boosted its position in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 215.1% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 6,482 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,425 shares during the quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $765,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Activest Wealth Management lifted its position in Duke Energy by 98.1% in the first quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 212 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 360.0% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Saudi Central Bank bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 1st quarter valued at about $37,000. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Duke Energy Price Performance

DUK stock opened at $121.57 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. Duke Energy Corporation has a one year low of $105.20 and a one year high of $127.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $94.53 billion, a PE ratio of 19.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.44. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $122.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $119.59.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $7.51 billion for 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%. Duke Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.18 earnings per share. Duke Energy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.170-6.420 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th were given a $1.065 dividend. This represents a $4.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend 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 payout ratio is currently 69.27%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on DUK shares. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Raymond James Financial started coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $127.00 price objective (up previously from $124.00) on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced 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 research report on Thursday, September 25th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Bonnie B. Titone sold 2,000 shares of the 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,438,843.04. This represents a 9.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Thomas Preston Jr. Gillespie sold 6,700 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 46,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. 0.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.