Corebridge Financial Inc. Sells 4,466 Shares of Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Key Points

• Corebridge Financial Inc. reduced its holdings in Duke Energy Corporation by 2.5%, owning 173,075 shares after selling 4,466 during the first quarter, with holdings valued at $21,110,000.
• Duke Energy has increased its quarterly dividend to $1.065 per share, representing a 3.5% dividend yield, with the increase from the previous dividend of $1.05.
• Analysts have set a consensus price target of $130.07 for Duke Energy shares, with 9 analysts rating the stock as a Buy and 7 as a Hold.

Corebridge Financial Inc. lowered its position in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 2.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 173,075 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 4,466 shares during the quarter. Corebridge Financial Inc.'s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $21,110,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 360.0% in the first quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 253 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 198 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Bonnie B. Titone sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.38, for a total value of $248,760.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 19,608 shares in the company, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Thomas Preston Jr. Gillespie sold 6,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.26, for a total value of $832,542.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 46,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. 0.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Duke Energy Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of Duke Energy stock traded down $1.18 on Thursday, reaching $122.50. 2,496,426 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,436,299. The company has a market capitalization of $95.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.36. Duke Energy Corporation has a 52 week low of $105.20 and a 52 week high of $127.85. The firm's 50-day moving average is $120.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $118.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.66.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.29 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $7.51 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.07 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 15.51%.Duke Energy's quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.18 earnings per share. Duke Energy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.170-6.420 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DUK has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $127.00 price objective (up previously from $124.00) on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 target price on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $127.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $127.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $130.07.

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.