XML Financial LLC Purchases 845 Shares of Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

XML Financial LLC boosted its position in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 17.9% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 5,576 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 845 shares during the quarter. XML Financial LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $658,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. Toth Financial Advisory Corp grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 31.6% during the 1st quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 346 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. now owns 1,827 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $223,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,034 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $370,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the period. Lokken Investment Group LLC grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Lokken Investment Group LLC now owns 2,633 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $321,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the period. Finally, Sheets Smith Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management now owns 27,517 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,356,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of DUK stock opened at $123.71 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $122.41 and its 200 day moving average is $119.57. 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 12 month low of $105.20 and a 12 month high of $127.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $96.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.12, a PEG ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.39.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.29 by ($0.04). Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.51% and a return on equity of 9.85%. The firm had revenue of $7.51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.18 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Duke Energy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.170-6.420 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a $1.065 dividend. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. This is a positive change from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 69.27%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on DUK. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price 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. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 target price on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $131.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $127.00 price target (up from $124.00) on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy

In other Duke Energy news, SVP Bonnie B. Titone sold 2,000 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 19,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,438,843.04. This trade represents a 9.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Thomas Preston Jr. Gillespie sold 6,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,768,397.72. The trade was 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 company insiders.

Duke Energy Company 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.