Carret Asset Management LLC Boosts Stake in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Carret Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 7.2% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,688 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 450 shares during the period. Carret Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $789,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in DUK. GQG Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 17,880.0% during the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 10,249,508 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,250,133,000 after buying an additional 10,192,503 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy in the 1st quarter worth $702,351,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its position in Duke Energy by 88.1% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 4,861,309 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $592,934,000 after purchasing an additional 2,276,948 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Duke Energy by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 74,562,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,094,327,000 after purchasing an additional 1,676,061 shares during the period. Finally, Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. raised its position in Duke Energy by 359.1% in the 1st quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 1,132,613 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $138,145,000 after purchasing an additional 885,900 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

DUK opened at $125.11 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $123.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $120.71. 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 company has a market cap of $97.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.34, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.44. Duke Energy Corporation has a 52-week low of $105.20 and a 52-week high of $130.03.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 period in the prior year, the business posted $1.18 earnings per share. Duke Energy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.170-6.420 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 14th will be paid a $1.065 dividend. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.27%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Thomas Preston Jr. Gillespie sold 6,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.26, for a total value of $832,542.00. Following the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Bonnie B. Titone sold 2,000 shares of the business’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 transaction, 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 position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $143.00 target price on the stock. BTIG Research upgraded shares of Duke Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Duke Energy to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Duke Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $138.00.

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.