139,000 Duke Energy Corporation $DUK Shares Sold by Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co.

Key Points

• Lockheed Martin Investment Management cut its Duke Energy stake by 74.2%, selling 139,000 shares in the third quarter and ending the period with 48,240 shares valued at about $5.5 million.
• Duke Energy beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates: EPS was $1.99 versus $1.86 expected, while revenue rose 6.6% year over year to $9.10 billion.
• Analysts’ consensus rating is “Moderate Buy”, with an average price target of $132.19. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $1.085 per share, equivalent to a 3.4% yield at the reported stock price.

Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. lessened its holdings in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 74.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 48,240 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 139,000 shares during the quarter. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co.'s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $5,500,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fairscale Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 11.4% during the third quarter. Fairscale Capital LLC now owns 1,884 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $215,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 24.3% in the third quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 2,845 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $324,000 after acquiring an additional 557 shares during the last quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC increased its position in Duke Energy by 23.2% during the 3rd quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC now owns 23,839 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,718,000 after purchasing an additional 4,485 shares during the period. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP acquired a new stake in Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 408,997 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $46,519,000 after purchasing an additional 18,531 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting Duke Energy

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

• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street analysts are described as cautiously optimistic about Duke Energy’s prospects, although the stock has lagged the S&P 500 over the past year. That outlook may support sentiment, but the article does not provide a specific forecast or rating change. Are Wall Street Analysts Predicting Duke Energy Stock Will Climb or Sink?
• Positive Sentiment: Duke Energy Foundation grants to local first-responder agencies offer community-relations benefits, though the story does not indicate a material financial impact. Indiana first-responder grants
• Neutral Sentiment: Davidson County leaders are set to vote on rezoning for a Duke Energy natural-gas facility along the Yadkin River. Approval could advance the project, but the vote is pending and the articles do not report an outcome or quantify its expected financial contribution. Davidson County vote on Duke Energy plant Davidson County rezoning vote
• Negative Sentiment: A news report says a customer’s costly appliance replacements followed a Duke Energy billing mix-up. The case could pose reputational or customer-service concerns, though no broader pattern or material financial exposure is established in the headline. Duke Energy billing mix-up report

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $127.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. KeyCorp lowered their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $139.00 to $128.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $134.00 to $132.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Scotiabank decreased their price target on Duke Energy from $146.00 to $131.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 30th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $132.19.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Duke Energy stock opened at $128.26 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $100.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.75, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.33. Duke Energy Corporation has a 52-week low of $112.40 and a 52-week high of $134.49. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $120.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $124.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.66.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.13. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.78% and a return on equity of 9.78%. The company had revenue of $9.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.81 EPS. Duke Energy's revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.0850 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 13th. This represents a $4.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 63.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy

In other news, EVP Bonnie Titone sold 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.00, for a total transaction of $371,200.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 26,111 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,342,208. This represents a 10.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

About Duke Energy

Duke Energy is a U.S. energy company focused primarily on regulated electric utilities and natural gas distribution. Its businesses generate, transmit and distribute electricity, and provide natural gas service to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

The company serves electric customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky. Its natural gas distribution operations serve customers in several states, including North Carolina, South Carolina, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee.

Duke Energy's power generation portfolio includes nuclear, natural gas, coal, hydroelectric and renewable resources.

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