WealthPlan Investment Management LLC Cuts Position in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

WealthPlan Investment Management LLC lessened its holdings in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 2.8% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,941 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 140 shares during the quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $583,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 7.7% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 291,667 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $35,575,000 after buying an additional 20,942 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 9.9% in the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 127,419 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $14,451,000 after purchasing an additional 11,445 shares during the period. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 8.1% in the 1st quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. now owns 51,354 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,264,000 after purchasing an additional 3,837 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,656,244 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,055,087,000 after purchasing an additional 93,699 shares during the period. Finally, Resolution Capital Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 7.6% in the 1st quarter. Resolution Capital Ltd now owns 59,995 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,318,000 after purchasing an additional 4,255 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on DUK. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $131.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Duke Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $141.00 to $134.00 in a report on Friday, September 26th. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Monday, October 6th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $143.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Cowen started coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Wednesday. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $136.08.

Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy

In other news, SVP Bonnie B. Titone sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 19,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Thomas Preston Jr. Gillespie sold 6,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 46,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,768,397.72. The trade was a 12.61% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of DUK stock opened at $127.43 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $123.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $120.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.42. Duke Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $105.20 and a 1 year high of $129.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $99.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.72, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.44.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by ($0.04). Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.51% and a return on equity of 9.85%. The business had revenue of $7.51 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.18 EPS. The company’s revenue 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. As a group, analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 14th will be issued a $1.065 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 14th. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.