Calton & Associates Inc. Invests $554,000 in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Key Points

• Calton & Associates Inc. has acquired 4,546 shares of Duke Energy Corporation, valued at approximately $554,000, as per their Form 13F filing with the SEC.
• Major analysts have raised their price targets for Duke Energy, with Citigroup increasing it to $142.00 and JPMorgan to $131.00, reflecting a positive outlook with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."
• Duke Energy plans to increase its quarterly dividend to $1.065 per share, indicating a commitment to return capital to shareholders, with a yield of 3.5%.

Calton & Associates Inc. bought a new position in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 4,546 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $554,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Duke Energy by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 74,562,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $9,094,327,000 after purchasing an additional 1,676,061 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC grew its position in Duke Energy by 17,880.0% in the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 10,249,508 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,250,133,000 after purchasing an additional 10,192,503 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in 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 purchasing an additional 93,699 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in Duke Energy by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 8,503,503 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $916,168,000 after purchasing an additional 357,967 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Duke Energy by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 8,153,615 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $994,496,000 after purchasing an additional 152,542 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on DUK shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $127.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $130.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Raymond James Financial started coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They issued a "market perform" rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $131.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 target price on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $130.62.

Duke Energy Price Performance

DUK stock traded down $0.59 during trading on Thursday, hitting $120.91. 3,069,626 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,532,266. Duke Energy Corporation has a one year low of $105.20 and a one year high of $127.85. The stock has a market cap of $94.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $120.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $118.79. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 15.51% and a return on equity of 9.85%. The firm had revenue of $7.51 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.18 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Duke Energy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.170-6.420 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

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

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.