Advisors Capital Management LLC Purchases 118,517 Shares of Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Key Points

• Advisors Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Duke Energy by 31.5%, acquiring an additional 118,517 shares, bringing its total ownership to 494,838 shares, which is valued at approximately $60.4 million.
• Duke Energy recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.065 per share, increasing from its previous rate, representing an annualized dividend yield of 3.5%.
• Research analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Duke Energy, with a target price averaging around $130.62, reflecting strong interest among institutional investors.

Advisors Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 31.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 494,838 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 118,517 shares during the period. Duke Energy comprises 0.9% of Advisors Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Advisors Capital Management LLC owned 0.06% of Duke Energy worth $60,355,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 338.6% in the 1st quarter. Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 37,763 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,606,000 after acquiring an additional 29,153 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 7.7% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 291,667 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $35,575,000 after acquiring an additional 20,942 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 9.9% in the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 127,419 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $14,451,000 after acquiring an additional 11,445 shares in the last quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 8.1% in the 1st quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. now owns 51,354 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $6,264,000 after acquiring an additional 3,837 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,656,244 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,055,087,000 after acquiring an additional 93,699 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Thomas Preston Jr. Gillespie sold 6,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.26, for a total transaction of $832,542.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 46,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,768,397.72. The trade was a 12.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Bonnie B. Titone sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.38, for a total value of $248,760.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 19,608 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,438,843.04. The trade was a 9.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.8%

Duke Energy stock opened at $121.32 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.66. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $121.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $119.07. The company has a market cap of $94.34 billion, a PE ratio of 19.73, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.39. Duke Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $105.20 and a fifty-two week high of $127.85.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.29 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $7.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.07 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.51% and a return on equity of 9.85%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.18 EPS. Duke Energy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.170-6.420 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.065 per share. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This is a boost from Duke Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.27%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $127.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Raymond James Financial started coverage on Duke Energy in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They set a "market perform" rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 target price on Duke Energy in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $131.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $127.00 target price (up from $124.00) on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $130.62.

Duke Energy Profile

Duke Energy Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an energy company in the United States. It operates through two segments: Electric Utilities and Infrastructure (EU&I), and Gas Utilities and Infrastructure (GU&I). The EU&I segment generates, transmits, distributes, and sells electricity in the Carolinas, Florida, and the Midwest.

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