Duke Energy Corporation $DUK Shares Acquired by Alliancebernstein L.P.

Key Points

• Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in Duke Energy by 10.3% in Q1, acquiring a total of 878,955 shares valued at approximately $107.2 million.
• Duke Energy reported Q2 earnings of $1.25 EPS, falling short of analysts' expectations, but revenue exceeded forecasts at $7.51 billion, a 4.7% increase year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.065, raising its annualized payout to $4.26, reflecting a dividend yield of 3.5%.

Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 10.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 878,955 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 81,822 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned approximately 0.11% of Duke Energy worth $107,206,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Investment Management Corp of Ontario boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 212.8% in the 4th quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 79,989 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $8,618,000 after purchasing an additional 54,413 shares during the period. Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Duke Energy by 338.6% during the 1st quarter. Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 37,763 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $4,606,000 after acquiring an additional 29,153 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Duke Energy by 7.7% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 291,667 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $35,575,000 after acquiring an additional 20,942 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc raised its stake in Duke Energy by 9.9% during the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 127,419 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $14,451,000 after acquiring an additional 11,445 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. raised its stake in Duke Energy by 8.1% during the 1st quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. now owns 51,354 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $6,264,000 after acquiring an additional 3,837 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Duke Energy Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE DUK opened at $120.58 on Friday. Duke Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $105.20 and a 1 year high of $127.85. The firm has a market cap of $93.77 billion, a price-to-earnings 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. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $121.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $118.92.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last announced its 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). 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 period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.18 earnings per share. The firm's 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. As a group, equities 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a $1.065 dividend. This represents a $4.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. This is a positive change from Duke Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Duke Energy's payout ratio is 69.27%.

Insider Transactions at Duke Energy

In related news, EVP Thomas Preston Jr. Gillespie sold 6,700 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 46,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,768,397.72. This trade represents a 12.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Bonnie B. Titone sold 2,000 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.38, for a total value of $248,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 19,608 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,438,843.04. This trade 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 currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on DUK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $127.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Duke Energy from $131.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on Duke Energy in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They issued a "market perform" rating for the company. Barclays increased their target price on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 target price on Duke Energy in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.

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