Duke Energy Corporation $DUK Shares Sold by Drake & Associates LLC

Drake & Associates LLC lowered its holdings in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 26.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,404 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 6,391 shares during the period. Duke Energy comprises about 0.4% of Drake & Associates LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Drake & Associates LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $2,040,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 11.6% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,754 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $728,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in Duke Energy by 19.6% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 23,162 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,825,000 after purchasing an additional 3,797 shares during the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 31,238 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,686,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares during the period. AXA S.A. grew its position in Duke Energy by 523.4% in the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 42,233 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,983,000 after purchasing an additional 35,458 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nebula Research & Development LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the second quarter valued at approximately $954,000. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Louis E. Renjel sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.15, for a total value of $438,025.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 21,415 shares in the company, valued at $2,680,087.25. The trade was a 14.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Harry K. Sideris sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.37, for a total transaction of $2,487,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 96,102 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,952,205.74. This represents a 17.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Duke Energy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Mizuho trimmed its price target on Duke Energy to $135 from $139, but kept an Outperform rating, still implying upside from current levels. Street Insider article
• Positive Sentiment: Investor-focused coverage highlighted Duke Energy as one of several utility stocks offering long-term passive income appeal, reinforcing the stock’s defensive, income-oriented profile. 247WallSt article
• Neutral Sentiment: Duke Energy’s safety demonstration for Pinellas County law enforcement was a routine community/outreach event, with limited direct impact on earnings or valuation. Yahoo News article
• Neutral Sentiment: Power outages and restorations in local service areas, including reports of customers temporarily without electricity, are operational headlines that may create short-term noise but do not by themselves change the investment thesis. MSN article
• Neutral Sentiment: Regulatory and local-government coverage, including a commissioner being barred from a planning vote and Clearwater’s review of Duke Energy property, adds uncertainty around future utility planning and municipal relations, but the near-term stock impact is unclear. Yahoo News article
• Negative Sentiment: Coverage noting that Duke Energy declined more than the market in the latest session may be reinforcing bearish trading momentum in the shares. Yahoo Finance article
• Negative Sentiment: A pro-coal state regulator stepping away from Duke Energy carbon plan decisions could increase uncertainty around the company’s long-term generation strategy and regulatory process. WFAE article

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DUK has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Duke Energy from $142.00 to $137.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 18th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Duke Energy from $143.00 to $138.00 in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Barclays lowered their price target on Duke Energy from $143.00 to $134.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $139.00 to $136.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and set a $139.00 target price on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Duke Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $138.07.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of DUK stock opened at $123.84 on Friday. Duke Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $113.89 and a 1 year high of $134.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.66. The business’s fifty day moving average is $125.59 and its 200-day moving average is $124.06. The stock has a market cap of $96.55 billion, a PE ratio of 18.97 and a beta of 0.39.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $9.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.44 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.73% and a net margin of 15.49%.The company’s revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.76 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were given a dividend of $1.065 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.24%.

Duke Energy Company Profile

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.