Duke Energy Corporation $DUK Shares Sold by Hanson & Doremus Investment Management

Key Points

• Hanson & Doremus Investment Management reduced its stake in Duke Energy by 15.3% during the second quarter, now owning 13,919 shares worth $1.64 million after selling 2,510 shares.
• Duke Energy recently missed earnings estimates with an EPS of $1.25, compared to the projected $1.29, while revenue increased to $7.51 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend increase to $1.065 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 3.5%, up from the previous dividend of $1.05.

Hanson & Doremus Investment Management lowered its position in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 15.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,919 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 2,510 shares during the period. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management's holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,642,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. Toth Financial Advisory Corp raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 31.6% during the 1st 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 holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 4.8% during the 1st 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 holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 2.8% during the 1st 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 holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 3.3% during the 1st 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 holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 0.3% during the 1st 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on DUK. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Duke Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $141.00 to $134.00 in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $127.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $127.00 price objective (up from $124.00) on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 target price on Duke Energy in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $131.00.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DUK opened at $122.99 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. Duke Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $105.20 and a twelve month high of $127.85. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $122.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $119.52. The stock has a market cap of $95.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.39.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.25 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 return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 15.51%.Duke Energy's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.18 EPS. Duke Energy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.170-6.420 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were given a dividend of $1.065 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $4.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. This is a boost from Duke Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.27%.

Insider Transactions at Duke Energy

In related news, 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 transaction of $248,760.00. Following the completion of 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Thomas Preston Jr. Gillespie sold 6,700 shares of the firm's 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company 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.

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