2,988 Shares in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK Bought by DRW Securities LLC

Key Points

• DRW Securities LLC has acquired a new stake of 2,988 shares in Duke Energy, valued at approximately $364,000.
• Duke Energy's recent quarterly earnings report showed an EPS of $1.25, missing the estimate of $1.29, but revenue increased by 4.7% year-over-year.
• The company has announced a dividend increase to $1.065 per share, reflecting a dividend yield of 3.5%, which is a positive change from the previous dividend of $1.05.

DRW Securities LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 2,988 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $364,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 11.6% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,754 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $728,000 after buying an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Alteri Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $220,000. BIP Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 33.8% in the fourth quarter. BIP Wealth LLC now owns 3,730 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $402,000 after purchasing an additional 942 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 66.8% in the fourth quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 69,529 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $7,491,000 after purchasing an additional 27,837 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baker Avenue Asset Management LP grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 14.6% in the fourth quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 4,339 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $468,000 after purchasing an additional 552 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Bonnie B. Titone sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.38, for a total value of $248,760.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 19,608 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,438,843.04. This trade represents a 9.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Thomas Preston Jr. Gillespie sold 6,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 46,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,768,397.72. This represents a 12.61% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Duke Energy Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE DUK traded down $0.29 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $120.58. 1,980,185 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,672,641. Duke Energy Corporation has a 1-year low of $105.20 and a 1-year high of $127.85. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $121.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $118.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $93.77 billion, a PE ratio of 19.61, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.39. 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 announced 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). The company had revenue of $7.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.07 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.51% and a return on equity of 9.85%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.18 earnings per share. Duke Energy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.170-6.420 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DUK has been the topic of several research reports. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They issued a "market perform" rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 price target on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $131.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $127.00 price target (up from $124.00) on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $127.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $130.62.

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.