Duke Energy Corporation $DUK Shares Sold by Hilltop Holdings Inc.

Key Points

• Hilltop Holdings cut its stake in Duke Energy by 57.9% in the first quarter, selling 15,449 shares and leaving it with 11,231 shares worth about $1.47 million.
• Duke Energy posted solid quarterly results, with EPS of $1.93 beating estimates and revenue of $9.18 billion topping forecasts; revenue was up 11.3% year over year.
• The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $1.085 per share, reinforcing its appeal to income investors with an annualized yield of about 3.3%.

Hilltop Holdings Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 57.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 11,231 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 15,449 shares during the period. Hilltop Holdings Inc.'s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,471,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Basso Capital Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Dorato Capital Management acquired a new position in Duke Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 1,111.1% during the 4th quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. now owns 218 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Triumph Capital Management boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 68.6% during the 4th quarter. Triumph Capital Management now owns 231 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the period. Finally, Cornerstone Financial Management LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company's stock.

More Duke Energy News

Here are the key news stories impacting Duke Energy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: KeyCorp reiterated an Overweight rating on Duke Energy and raised its longer-term earnings outlook, nudging up FY2027, FY2028, and FY2029 EPS estimates. The firm also kept a $139 price target, suggesting confidence in Duke’s earnings growth trajectory.
• Positive Sentiment: Duke Energy unveiled its Customer Protection Plus framework, designed to support rapid data center-driven power demand while aiming to deliver billions in customer savings. Investors may view this as a constructive way to monetize infrastructure growth without triggering excessive pushback from customers. Duke Energy (DUK) Unveils Customer Savings Plan To Back Data Center Growth
• Positive Sentiment: The company also announced a higher quarterly dividend, reinforcing Duke Energy’s appeal as an income stock and helping attract dividend-focused investors. Can Duke Energy (DUK) Justify Its Price As Its Higher Dividend Draws Attention?
• Neutral Sentiment: North Carolina leaders and regulators are pressuring Duke Energy to make its federal data-center pledge legally binding. This could support accountability and customer trust, but it also raises regulatory scrutiny around future growth plans.
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory criticism of Duke’s proposed rate increases remains a headwind, with North Carolina’s attorney general saying the lowered request is still too high. That could add pressure to future profitability if rate approvals become more difficult.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DUK has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $135.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Monday, May 4th. Evercore upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $139.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Monday, May 11th. BTIG Research reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Thursday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $138.00 to $134.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $138.62.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Harry K. Sideris sold 20,000 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.37, for a total transaction of $2,487,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 96,102 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,952,205.74. The trade was a 17.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Louis E. Renjel sold 3,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.15, for a total transaction of $438,025.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 21,415 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,680,087.25. The trade was a 14.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of DUK opened at $130.54 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $125.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $125.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $101.77 billion, a PE ratio of 19.99, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.38. Duke Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $113.89 and a 1 year high of $134.49.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.87 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $9.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.44 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.49% and a return on equity of 9.73%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.76 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.72 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 Wednesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.085 per share. This is a boost from Duke Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $1.06. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $4.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.24%.

Duke Energy Profile

Duke Energy Corporation is a U.S.-based electric power holding company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company's core business is the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers. Duke Energy operates a mix of regulated electric utilities and non-regulated energy businesses, providing essential energy infrastructure and services across multiple states.

Its operating activities include owning and operating generation assets across a portfolio that encompasses nuclear, natural gas, coal, hydroelectric and an expanding array of renewable resources, as well as battery storage and grid modernization projects.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding DUK? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.