Courier Capital LLC Acquires 12,187 Shares of Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Key Points

• Courier Capital increased its Duke Energy stake by 72% in the third quarter, purchasing 12,187 additional shares for a total of 29,104 shares valued at approximately $3.32 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 65.31% of DUK.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $133.38 price target, although several firms recently reduced their targets. Duke Energy shares traded around $118.23, below the consensus target.
• Duke Energy reported quarterly EPS of $1.43, exceeding estimates, and declared a quarterly dividend of $1.085 per share. The annualized dividend is $4.34, representing a yield of approximately 3.7%.

Courier Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 72.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 29,104 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 12,187 shares during the period. Courier Capital LLC's holdings in Duke Energy were worth $3,318,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of DUK. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Duke Energy during the second quarter worth $605,680,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 5,254.4% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,735,816 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $358,227,000 after acquiring an additional 2,684,721 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 7.1% during the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 2,282,341 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $298,850,000 after acquiring an additional 151,400 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 2.9% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,092,284 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $273,979,000 after acquiring an additional 58,967 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1.8% during the second quarter. National Pension Service now owns 2,124,004 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $268,856,000 after acquiring an additional 36,835 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Duke Energy News

Here are the key news stories impacting Duke Energy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: KeyCorp maintained an “overweight” rating despite lowering its price target from $139 to $128. The revised target still indicates approximately 8% potential upside, suggesting the firm expects Duke Energy’s regulated utility operations and investment program to support the shares.
• Positive Sentiment: Duke Energy Florida introduced a $7.50 monthly bill credit for customers who charge electric vehicles during designated off-peak periods. The program could encourage load management, support EV adoption and improve grid utilization in a state with one of the nation’s largest EV populations. Plug in, get paid: Duke Energy Florida program offers bill credits
• Positive Sentiment: Storm-recovery reports highlighted Duke Energy’s grid investments. The company restored service to roughly 10,000 customers after Hurricane Isaias, while its planned $103 billion investment program is intended to improve reliability and storm resilience over time. Can Duke Energy's Grid Investments Strengthen Storm Resilience?
• Neutral Sentiment: JPMorgan lowered its price target from $137 to $130 and assigned a “neutral” rating. Although the new target implies about 10% upside, the cut signals more cautious expectations for valuation or earnings growth and may limit near-term enthusiasm.
• Neutral Sentiment: Duke Energy Foundation announced nearly $200,000 for South Carolina Main Street revitalization projects. The initiative supports local communities but is unlikely to materially affect earnings. Duke Energy Foundation investing nearly $200,000 in South Carolina communities
• Negative Sentiment: About 30 North Carolina households allege power surges damaged appliances and say Duke Energy denied their claims. The dispute could create reputational, regulatory or potential liability risks if claims expand. North Carolina customers allege power surge damage

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on DUK shares. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $134.00 to $132.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Friday, July 31st. KeyCorp decreased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $139.00 to $128.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Duke Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, September 19th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $135.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $133.38.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE:DUK traded up $0.54 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $118.23. 3,498,824 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,998,472. The firm has a market cap of $92.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.75, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.36. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $119.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $124.02. Duke Energy Corporation has a 52-week low of $112.40 and a 52-week high of $134.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.43.

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

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 13th will be given a dividend of $1.0850 per share. This represents a $4.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 13th. Duke Energy's payout ratio is 65.17%.

Duke Energy Company Profile

Duke Energy Corporation NYSE: DUK is an energy holding company that operates regulated electric and natural gas utilities in the United States. Its electric utilities generate, transmit, distribute and sell electricity to residential, commercial, industrial and other customers.

The company serves customers across the Carolinas, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky. Duke Energy also operates natural gas utilities and related infrastructure in several states, including North Carolina, South Carolina, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee.

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