Constant Guidance Financial LLC Purchases 4,300 Shares of Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Constant Guidance Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 51.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,600 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,300 shares during the period. Duke Energy comprises about 1.1% of Constant Guidance Financial LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Constant Guidance Financial LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,650,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 1,957,592 shares in the last quarter. Amundi grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 56.9% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,662,460 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $312,067,000 after acquiring an additional 965,808 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 13.1% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Milford Funds Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $97,905,000. Finally, Cohen & Steers Inc. lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 83.3% in the fourth quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 1,711,445 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $200,598,000 after purchasing an additional 777,878 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DUK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Monday, May 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $136.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $143.00 to $138.00 in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Barclays lowered their target price on Duke Energy from $143.00 to $134.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their target price on Duke Energy from $139.00 to $135.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $138.62.

More Duke Energy News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts expect Duke Energy’s upcoming earnings to grow and identify factors that could support an earnings beat. A favorable report could reinforce investor confidence in the company’s regulated growth outlook. Duke Energy Earnings Expected to Grow
• Positive Sentiment: Duke says expanding data-center demand should create long-term customer savings, suggesting a potential source of load growth and infrastructure investment. The company also promised not to raise rates to cover data-center costs, which may reduce near-term political and customer backlash. Duke Energy Says Data Center Growth Will Deliver Long-Term Customer Savings Duke Energy Promises No Rate Hikes
• Neutral Sentiment: Comparable utility results were encouraging: DTE Energy beat second-quarter estimates despite a year-over-year earnings decline, while CenterPoint Energy reported an adjusted earnings beat and 10.7% revenue growth. The reports provide sector context but do not directly change Duke’s earnings outlook. DTE Energy Q2 Earnings CenterPoint Energy Q2 Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: The Duke Energy Foundation announced another $1 million for North Carolina nonprofits, taking total customer-assistance and community support above $65 million since 2016. The initiative may strengthen community relations but has limited direct earnings impact. Duke Energy North Carolina Customer Assistance
• Negative Sentiment: North Carolina officials and an attorney general are pressing Duke to protect ratepayers from data-center-related costs. Although Duke reduced its proposed rate increase and says data centers will not drive customer rate hikes, continued political and regulatory opposition could delay approvals or constrain returns. Attorney General Calls for Data Center Protections Duke Energy Rate Increase Opposition
• Negative Sentiment: Storm-related outages left thousands of Duke customers without power, creating potential near-term restoration costs and reputational pressure. Duke Energy Power Outages

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.4%

DUK stock opened at $129.36 on Wednesday. Duke Energy Corporation has a 1-year low of $113.89 and a 1-year high of $134.49. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $125.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $126.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $100.85 billion, a PE ratio of 19.81, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.38.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced 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 business had revenue of $9.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.76 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.72 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other Duke Energy news, CEO Louis E. Renjel sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The shares were 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. This represents a 14.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Harry K. Sideris sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.37, for a total transaction of $2,487,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 96,102 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,952,205.74. This trade represents a 17.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.