9,103 Shares in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK Acquired by Dearborn Partners LLC

Dearborn Partners LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 9,103 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,192,000.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. Basso Capital Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 1,111.1% in the 4th quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. now owns 218 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Triumph Capital Management lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 68.6% during the 4th quarter. Triumph Capital Management now owns 231 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Evergreen Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy during the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DUK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $138.00 to $133.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $138.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 17th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $140.00 to $132.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $137.94.

Duke Energy Price Performance

DUK stock opened at $121.96 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $125.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $126.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $95.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.38. Duke Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $113.89 and a 1 year high of $134.49.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $7.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.66 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.78% and a return on equity of 9.78%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.25 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a $1.085 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $4.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. This is a boost from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.06. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is currently 65.17%.

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.