Everstar Asset Management LLC Acquires 12,758 Shares of Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Key Points

• Everstar Asset Management LLC has significantly increased its holdings in Duke Energy Corporation by 411.5%, now owning 15,858 shares valued at approximately $1.93 million.
• Duke Energy reported a quarterly EPS of $1.25, missing estimates, but its revenue increased by 4.7% year-over-year to $7.51 billion.
• The company recently announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $1.065 per share, reflecting a yield of 3.5%.

Everstar Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 411.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 15,858 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 12,758 shares during the period. Everstar Asset Management LLC's holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,934,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Toth Financial Advisory Corp raised its position in Duke Energy by 31.6% in the first quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 346 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. raised its position in Duke Energy by 4.8% in the first quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. now owns 1,827 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $223,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Duke Energy by 2.8% in the first quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,034 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $370,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the period. Lokken Investment Group LLC raised its position in Duke Energy by 3.3% in the first quarter. Lokken Investment Group LLC now owns 2,633 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $321,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the period. Finally, Sheets Smith Wealth Management raised its position in Duke Energy by 0.3% in the first quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management now owns 27,517 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,356,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Duke Energy

In other Duke Energy news, SVP Bonnie B. Titone sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.38, for a total value of $248,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 19,608 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,438,843.04. The trade was a 9.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Thomas Preston Jr. Gillespie sold 6,700 shares of the business'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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 46,422 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,768,397.72. This trade represents a 12.61% 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 insiders.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DUK traded down $0.15 on Friday, reaching $121.96. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,136,379 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,491,651. Duke Energy Corporation has a 52-week low of $105.20 and a 52-week high of $127.85. The company has a market cap of $94.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.83, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $121.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $119.16. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.25 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.18 earnings per share. The business's quarterly 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. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate 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 will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.065 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $4.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. This is a boost from Duke Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 69.27%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on DUK shares. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Morgan Stanley restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $127.00 price objective (up from $124.00) on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $127.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $130.62.

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.