AXQ Capital LP Makes New $1.32 Million Investment in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Key Points

• AXQ Capital LP opened a new position in Duke Energy during the fourth quarter, buying 11,296 shares valued at about $1.32 million.
• Duke Energy’s latest quarterly results beat expectations, with EPS of $1.93 versus the $1.87 consensus and revenue of $9.18 billion, up 11.3% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.065 per share, equivalent to an annualized yield of about 3.6%, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Moderate Buy.

AXQ Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 11,296 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,324,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 11.6% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,754 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $728,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 19.6% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 23,162 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,825,000 after buying an additional 3,797 shares during the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 31,238 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,686,000 after buying an additional 315 shares during the last quarter. AXA S.A. lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 523.4% during the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 42,233 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,983,000 after buying an additional 35,458 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nebula Research & Development LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $954,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial reduced 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. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $130.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $141.00 to $132.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $137.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $127.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $139.07.

Duke Energy Stock Down 2.4%

DUK stock opened at $119.82 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $127.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $124.02. Duke Energy Corporation has a 12 month low of $113.66 and a 12 month high of $134.49. The company has a market cap of $93.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.35 and a beta of 0.39. 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 - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $9.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.44 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.49% and a return on equity of 9.73%. Duke Energy's revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.76 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $1.065 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $4.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 65.24%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Duke Energy news, CEO Harry K. Sideris sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.37, for a total transaction of $2,487,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 96,102 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,952,205.74. This represents a 17.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Louis E. Renjel sold 3,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.15, for a total transaction of $438,025.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 21,415 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,680,087.25. The trade was a 14.05% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Duke Energy

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.

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