Bayforest Capital Ltd Decreases Stock Holdings in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Key Points

• Bayforest Capital Ltd reduced its stake in Duke Energy by 63.2%, owning 2,702 shares after selling 4,641 shares in Q2, valued at $319,000.
• Several institutional investors, including Vanguard and GQG Partners, have increased their holdings in Duke Energy, with Vanguard owning over 74 million shares worth approximately $9.1 billion.
• Duke Energy recently reported quarterly earnings, missing estimates with $1.25 EPS and announced a dividend of $1.065 per share to be paid in December.

Bayforest Capital Ltd lowered its stake in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 63.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,702 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 4,641 shares during the period. Bayforest Capital Ltd's holdings in Duke Energy were worth $319,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Duke Energy by 2.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 74,562,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $9,094,327,000 after acquiring an additional 1,676,061 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC raised its position in Duke Energy by 17,880.0% during the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 10,249,508 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,250,133,000 after acquiring an additional 10,192,503 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in Duke Energy by 4.9% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 8,921,517 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,088,158,000 after acquiring an additional 418,014 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Duke Energy by 1.1% during the first 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Duke Energy by 1.9% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 8,153,615 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $994,496,000 after acquiring an additional 152,542 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on DUK. Cowen began coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Wednesday. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Monday, October 6th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $143.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $127.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $131.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $135.50.

Duke Energy Price Performance

DUK opened at $128.73 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. Duke Energy Corporation has a 52-week low of $105.20 and a 52-week high of $128.99. The company has a 50 day moving average of $123.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $120.04. The company has a market cap of $100.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.93, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.44.

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

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.065 per share. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 14th. Duke Energy's payout ratio is currently 69.27%.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

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

Duke Energy Company 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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