North Dallas Bank & Trust Co. Acquires Shares of 7,666 Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

North Dallas Bank & Trust Co. acquired a new stake in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 7,666 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $899,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 78,258,757 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,172,709,000 after purchasing an additional 1,957,592 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,236,893 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $965,446,000 after purchasing an additional 954,907 shares in the last quarter. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd purchased a new position in Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $86,309,000. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 447.3% in the 4th quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al now owns 513,905 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $60,235,000 after purchasing an additional 420,005 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 19.1% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec now owns 2,613,595 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $323,432,000 after purchasing an additional 419,992 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Up 1.4%

NYSE DUK opened at $123.77 on Wednesday. Duke Energy Corporation has a 52 week low of $113.66 and a 52 week high of $134.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $126.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $123.97. The firm has a market cap of $96.49 billion, a PE ratio of 18.95 and a beta of 0.39.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.06. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.73% and a net margin of 15.49%.The business had revenue of $9.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.76 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.065 per share. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is currently 65.24%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on DUK. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Duke Energy from $143.00 to $138.00 in a report on Monday, May 11th. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $139.00 price objective on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $135.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Duke Energy from $137.00 to $135.00 in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $127.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $138.93.

Insider Transactions at Duke Energy

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

Duke Energy 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.