Duke Energy Corporation $DUK Shares Sold by Stephens Inc. AR

Key Points

• Stephens Inc. AR reduced its holdings in Duke Energy by 1.3%, selling 3,947 shares, while their stake remains valued at $34.37 million.
• GQG Partners LLC significantly increased its stake in Duke Energy by 17,880% in Q1, acquiring over 10.2 million shares.
• Recent analyst ratings show a consensus of "Moderate Buy" for Duke Energy, with an average price target of $136.77.

Stephens Inc. AR trimmed its holdings in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 1.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 291,263 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 3,947 shares during the quarter. Stephens Inc. AR's holdings in Duke Energy were worth $34,369,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. GQG Partners LLC grew its stake in Duke Energy by 17,880.0% during the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 10,249,508 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,250,133,000 after buying an additional 10,192,503 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the first quarter worth approximately $702,351,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 88.1% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 4,861,309 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $592,934,000 after acquiring an additional 2,276,948 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Duke Energy by 2.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 74,562,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $9,094,327,000 after purchasing an additional 1,676,061 shares during the period. Finally, Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 359.1% in the first quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 1,132,613 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $138,145,000 after buying an additional 885,900 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Thomas Preston Jr. Gillespie sold 6,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 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 SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Bonnie B. Titone sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.38, for a total value of $248,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Duke Energy from $134.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on Duke Energy in a report on Monday, October 6th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $143.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Duke Energy from $131.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Cowen assumed coverage on Duke Energy in a report on Wednesday. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 price target on Duke Energy in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $136.77.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of DUK stock opened at $128.55 on Monday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $123.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $120.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $99.96 billion, a PE ratio of 20.90, a P/E/G ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.44. 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 1-year low of $105.20 and a 1-year high of $129.51.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.29 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $7.51 billion during 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%.The company's revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.18 EPS. Duke Energy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.170-6.420 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 14th will be given a $1.065 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 14th. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 69.27%.

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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