First Command Advisory Services Inc. Increases Position in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

First Command Advisory Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 8,693 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 382 shares during the period. First Command Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,026,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 2.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 74,562,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,094,327,000 after buying an additional 1,676,061 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 17,880.0% during the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 10,249,508 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,250,133,000 after buying an additional 10,192,503 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 4.9% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 8,921,517 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,088,158,000 after buying an additional 418,014 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1.1% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,656,244 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,055,087,000 after buying an additional 93,699 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1.9% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 8,153,615 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $994,496,000 after buying an additional 152,542 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on DUK shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $127.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Scotiabank set a $137.00 price target on shares of Duke Energy and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 price target on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $131.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $138.36.

Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy

In other news, SVP Bonnie B. Titone sold 2,000 shares of the 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 19,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,438,843.04. This represents a 9.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Thomas Preston Jr. Gillespie sold 6,700 shares of the 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 directly owned 46,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,768,397.72. The trade was a 12.61% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Duke Energy stock opened at $127.41 on Monday. Duke Energy Corporation has a 52-week low of $105.20 and a 52-week high of $130.03. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $123.71 and a 200-day moving average of $120.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $99.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.72, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55.

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

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 14th will be given a $1.065 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 14th. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.27%.

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.