Duke Energy Corporation $DUK Shares Bought by Mechanics Financial Corp

Key Points

• Mechanics Financial Corp significantly increased its investment in Duke Energy Corporation by 215.1% during the 2nd quarter, holding shares valued at approximately $765,000 after acquiring an additional 4,425 shares.
• Several institutional investors have also expanded their positions in Duke Energy, with a noteworthy 64.0% increase in holdings from Secure Asset Management LLC in the first quarter.
• Duke Energy recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.065 per share, indicating an increase from the previous amount, now translating to an annualized dividend yield of 3.5%.

Mechanics Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 215.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,482 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 4,425 shares during the quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp's holdings in Duke Energy were worth $765,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 11.6% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,754 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $728,000 after buying an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. RFG Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 14.4% during the first quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 16,904 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,062,000 after buying an additional 2,127 shares in the last quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 64.0% during the first quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 3,593 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $438,000 after buying an additional 1,402 shares in the last quarter. Maltin Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the first quarter worth about $305,000. Finally, Lake Street Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 8.0% during the first quarter. Lake Street Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,717 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $453,000 after buying an additional 275 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Friday, June 13th. They issued a "market perform" rating for the company. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $127.00 target price (up from $124.00) on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Friday, July 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $127.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Duke Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $141.00 to $134.00 in a report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $131.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $131.50.

Duke Energy Trading Down 0.7%

DUK opened at $121.57 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $94.53 billion, a PE ratio of 19.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.44. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $122.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $119.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.42. Duke Energy Corporation has a 12-month low of $105.20 and a 12-month high of $127.85.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.25 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $7.07 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 15.51%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.18 earnings per share. Duke Energy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.170-6.420 EPS. As a group, research 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 was paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th were given a dividend of $1.065 per share. This is an increase from Duke Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. Duke Energy's payout ratio is currently 69.27%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Thomas Preston Jr. Gillespie sold 6,700 shares of the company's 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Bonnie B. Titone sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.38, for a total transaction of $248,760.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 19,608 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,438,843.04. This represents a 9.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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