AXQ Capital LP Sells 24,274 Shares of Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Key Points

• AXQ Capital LP cut its Duke Energy stake by 93.2% in the second quarter, selling 24,274 shares and retaining 1,764 shares valued at approximately $223,000.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $137.94, despite several firms lowering their targets.
• Duke Energy reported quarterly EPS of $1.43, exceeding estimates, and raised its quarterly dividend to $1.085 per share, equivalent to a 3.6% annualized yield.

AXQ Capital LP cut its holdings in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 93.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,764 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 24,274 shares during the period. AXQ Capital LP's holdings in Duke Energy were worth $223,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 11.6% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,754 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $728,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 19.6% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 23,162 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,825,000 after purchasing an additional 3,797 shares during the period. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. lifted its holdings in 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 period. AXA S.A. grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 523.4% in the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 42,233 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $4,983,000 after buying an additional 35,458 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nebula Research & Development LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the second quarter worth about $954,000. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on DUK. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $138.00 to $133.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $138.00 to $135.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 17th. KeyCorp raised shares of Duke Energy from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $139.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. BTIG Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on Duke Energy from $140.00 to $132.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $137.94.

Duke Energy Trading Down 0.7%

NYSE DUK opened at $120.44 on Thursday. Duke Energy Corporation has a 52 week low of $113.89 and a 52 week high of $134.49. The company has a market cap of $93.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.37. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $124.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $126.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $7.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.66 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.78% and a return on equity of 9.78%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.25 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a $1.085 dividend. This is an increase from Duke Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $1.06. This represents a $4.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. Duke Energy's payout ratio is presently 65.17%.

Duke Energy Profile

Duke Energy Corporation is an electric and natural gas utility holding company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company generates, transmits, distributes and sells electricity, with a generation portfolio that includes natural gas, nuclear, coal, hydroelectric and renewable energy resources. It also operates natural gas distribution businesses and provides related energy services.

Duke Energy's regulated electric utilities serve residential, commercial and industrial customers across the Carolinas, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky.

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