Claris Financial LLC Invests $778,000 in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Claris Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 6,634 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $778,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. Basso Capital Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Dorato Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in Duke Energy by 1,111.1% during the fourth quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. now owns 218 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp acquired a new stake in Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Triumph Capital Management raised its stake in Duke Energy by 68.6% in the 4th quarter. Triumph Capital Management now owns 231 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

More Duke Energy News

Here are the key news stories impacting Duke Energy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Mizuho trimmed its price target on Duke Energy to $135 from $139, but kept an Outperform rating, still implying upside from current levels. Street Insider article
• Positive Sentiment: Investor-focused coverage highlighted Duke Energy as one of several utility stocks offering long-term passive income appeal, reinforcing the stock’s defensive, income-oriented profile. 247WallSt article
• Neutral Sentiment: Duke Energy’s safety demonstration for Pinellas County law enforcement was a routine community/outreach event, with limited direct impact on earnings or valuation. Yahoo News article
• Neutral Sentiment: Power outages and restorations in local service areas, including reports of customers temporarily without electricity, are operational headlines that may create short-term noise but do not by themselves change the investment thesis. MSN article
• Neutral Sentiment: Regulatory and local-government coverage, including a commissioner being barred from a planning vote and Clearwater’s review of Duke Energy property, adds uncertainty around future utility planning and municipal relations, but the near-term stock impact is unclear. Yahoo News article
• Negative Sentiment: Coverage noting that Duke Energy declined more than the market in the latest session may be reinforcing bearish trading momentum in the shares. Yahoo Finance article
• Negative Sentiment: A pro-coal state regulator stepping away from Duke Energy carbon plan decisions could increase uncertainty around the company’s long-term generation strategy and regulatory process. WFAE article

Insider Transactions at Duke Energy

In related news, CEO Harry K. Sideris sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.37, for a total value of $2,487,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 96,102 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,952,205.74. This represents a 17.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Louis E. Renjel sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The shares were 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 owned 21,415 shares in the company, valued at $2,680,087.25. This represents a 14.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $139.00 to $135.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Evercore increased their price target on Duke Energy from $139.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Monday, May 4th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $139.00 price objective on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Capitol Sec Mgt downgraded Duke Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $138.07.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.1%

NYSE DUK opened at $123.84 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $125.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $124.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $96.55 billion, a PE ratio of 18.97 and a beta of 0.39. Duke Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $113.89 and a fifty-two week high of $134.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.44.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $9.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.76 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a dividend of $1.065 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is presently 65.24%.

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.