Retirement Planning Group LLC Makes New $2.56 Million Investment in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Retirement Planning Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 20,649 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,555,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of DUK. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the second quarter worth $28,000. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Duke Energy by 53.7% during the second quarter. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC now owns 249 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Access Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy in the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 2,284.6% in the 2nd quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 310 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Anfield Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 2,608.3% during the 2nd quarter. Anfield Capital Management LLC now owns 325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 313 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Robert Alexander Glenn sold 8,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.80, for a total transaction of $1,015,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 11,367 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,407,234.60. This represents a 41.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on DUK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $136.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Cowen began coverage on Duke Energy in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Duke Energy from $138.00 to $126.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 8th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $137.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, TD Cowen initiated coverage on Duke Energy in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $143.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $136.50.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.5%

DUK opened at $117.32 on Wednesday. Duke Energy Corporation has a 12 month low of $105.61 and a 12 month high of $130.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $119.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $121.38. The company has a market cap of $91.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.50.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $8.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.51 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.98% and a net margin of 15.76%.Duke Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.62 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th will be paid a $1.065 dividend. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 13th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is presently 66.98%.

About Duke Energy

Duke Energy Corporation is a U.S.-based electric power holding company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company’s core business is the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers. Duke Energy operates a mix of regulated electric utilities and non-regulated energy businesses, providing essential energy infrastructure and services across multiple states.

Its operating activities include owning and operating generation assets across a portfolio that encompasses nuclear, natural gas, coal, hydroelectric and an expanding array of renewable resources, as well as battery storage and grid modernization projects.