Duke Energy Corporation $DUK Shares Acquired by Wealthfront Advisers LLC

Wealthfront Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 5.6% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 162,446 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,604 shares during the quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $21,271,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Duke Energy by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 78,258,757 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,172,709,000 after buying an additional 1,957,592 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,292,633 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,266,675,000 after acquiring an additional 230,375 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,931,127 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,046,818,000 after acquiring an additional 58,375 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 954,907 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,758,700 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $960,139,000 after acquiring an additional 31,703 shares during 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: Duke Energy boosted its quarterly dividend to $1.085 per share, a 1.9% increase from the prior payout, reinforcing its appeal as an income stock. PR Newswire dividend/program article
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan raised its price target on Duke Energy to $141 from $136, signaling continued confidence in the stock’s valuation and a modest upside from current levels. Benzinga price target article
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to point to solid growth prospects, with recent commentary highlighting Duke’s contracted load and longer-term growth plan as credible support for earnings. Seeking Alpha contracted load article
• Neutral Sentiment: Duke Energy Florida said its EnergyWise Home program can provide customer bill credits with minimal effort, which is supportive of customer relations but not a major earnings driver. Yahoo Finance EnergyWise Home article
• Neutral Sentiment: Clearwater is set to vote on a 30-year Duke Energy deal, which could help preserve the utility’s local footprint but is still pending. Clearwater vote article
• Negative Sentiment: North Carolina’s attorney general is challenging Duke Energy Progress rate hikes, adding regulatory pressure and uncertainty around future revenue growth. Attorney general challenge article
• Negative Sentiment: Another report said the attorney general is seeking to block nearly $1 billion in Duke Energy rate hikes over the next two years, reinforcing the regulatory overhang. Yahoo News rate hikes article
• Negative Sentiment: A Greensboro outage affecting thousands of customers highlights ongoing operational reliability issues, though the number of impacted customers has since been cut roughly in half. Greensboro outage article

Duke Energy Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of DUK stock opened at $125.99 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $98.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.29 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $124.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $125.42. Duke Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $113.89 and a fifty-two week high of $134.49.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.06. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.49% and a return on equity of 9.73%. The firm had revenue of $9.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.76 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a dividend of $1.085 per share. This is an increase from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.06. This represents a $4.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy

In related news, CEO Harry K. Sideris sold 20,000 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 96,102 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,952,205.74. This trade represents a 17.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Louis E. Renjel sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.15, for a total value of $438,025.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 21,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,680,087.25. The trade was a 14.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DUK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $142.00 to $137.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $136.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Mizuho decreased their price target on Duke Energy from $139.00 to $135.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Duke Energy from $143.00 to $134.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on Duke Energy from $137.00 to $135.00 in a report on Monday, May 11th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $138.67.

Duke Energy Company 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.