Stiles Financial Services Inc Has $2.77 Million Stock Position in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Stiles Financial Services Inc grew its position in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 3.5% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 23,463 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 797 shares during the period. Stiles Financial Services Inc’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $2,769,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Activest Wealth Management boosted its position in Duke Energy by 98.1% during the 1st quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 212 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 53.7% in the 2nd quarter. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC now owns 249 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 360.0% in the 1st quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 253 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Duke Energy stock opened at $124.68 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $122.99 and its 200 day moving average is $119.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.42. The firm has a market cap of $96.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.27, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.44. Duke Energy Corporation has a one year low of $105.20 and a one year high of $127.85.

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

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy

In related news, EVP Thomas Preston Jr. Gillespie sold 6,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.26, for a total transaction of $832,542.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 46,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,768,397.72. This represents a 12.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Bonnie B. Titone sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,438,843.04. This represents a 9.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on DUK shares. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Duke Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $141.00 to $134.00 in a report on Friday, September 26th. Scotiabank set a $137.00 price target on Duke Energy and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $127.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Duke Energy in a research report on Monday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $143.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Wednesday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Duke Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.08.

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.