Blue Rock Wealth Management LLC Purchases 2,737 Shares of Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Key Points

• Blue Rock Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 53.8%, now owning 7,820 shares valued at approximately $954,000, positioning it as the firm's 28th biggest holding.
• Duke Energy reported a quarterly EPS of $1.25, missing the consensus estimate of $1.29, but revenue increased to $7.51 billion, surpassing forecasts of $7.07 billion.
• The company announced a dividend increase to $1.065 per share, payable on September 16th, marking a yield of 3.5% with a payout ratio of 69.27%.

Blue Rock Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 53.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,820 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,737 shares during the quarter. Duke Energy comprises approximately 0.8% of Blue Rock Wealth Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Blue Rock Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Duke Energy were worth $954,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of DUK. Brighton Jones LLC lifted 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. Ethic Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 69.1% during the fourth quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 9,594 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,034,000 after buying an additional 3,919 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 97,906 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $10,547,000 after buying an additional 970 shares in the last quarter. Logan Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Logan Capital Management Inc. now owns 33,916 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,654,000 after buying an additional 668 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 597.3% during the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 31,610 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,404,000 after buying an additional 27,077 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on DUK. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $127.00 price target (up previously from $124.00) on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Raymond James Financial started coverage on Duke Energy in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They issued a "market perform" rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $127.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $130.62.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Duke Energy stock traded up $0.10 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $122.05. The company's stock had a trading volume of 843,446 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,473,432. Duke Energy Corporation has a 52 week low of $105.20 and a 52 week high of $127.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $121.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $119.19. The stock has a market cap of $94.91 billion, a PE ratio of 19.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.39.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last released 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 net margin of 15.51% and a return on equity of 9.85%. The business had revenue of $7.51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.18 EPS. The business's revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Duke Energy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.170-6.420 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Thomas Preston Jr. Gillespie sold 6,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.26, for a total transaction of $832,542.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 46,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,768,397.72. The trade was a 12.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Bonnie B. Titone sold 2,000 shares of the business's 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 19,608 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

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.