Duke Energy Corporation $DUK Stock Holdings Increased by Signal Advisors Wealth LLC

Key Points

• Signal Advisors Wealth LLC boosted its Duke Energy stake by 390.8% in the first quarter, buying 12,092 more shares to bring its total to 15,186 shares worth about $1.99 million.
• Duke Energy reported better-than-expected first-quarter earnings, posting EPS of $1.93 versus the $1.87 consensus and revenue of $9.18 billion, up 11.3% year over year.
• The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $1.065 per share, equal to an annualized yield of 3.4%, while analysts currently rate the stock a “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $138.07.

Signal Advisors Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 390.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 15,186 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 12,092 shares during the quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC's holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,989,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of DUK. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Duke Energy by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 78,258,757 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $9,172,709,000 after buying an additional 1,957,592 shares in the last quarter. Amundi boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 56.9% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,662,460 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $312,067,000 after acquiring an additional 965,808 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,236,893 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $965,446,000 after acquiring an additional 954,907 shares during the period. Milford Funds Ltd. acquired a new stake in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $97,905,000. Finally, Cohen & Steers Inc. boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 83.3% during the 4th quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 1,711,445 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $200,598,000 after purchasing an additional 777,878 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DUK has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Duke Energy from $137.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $135.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Duke Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 28th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price target on Duke Energy from $142.00 to $137.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 18th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $138.07.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Harry K. Sideris sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at approximately $11,952,205.74. This trade represents a 17.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Louis E. Renjel sold 3,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.15, for a total transaction of $438,025.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 21,415 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,680,087.25. This represents a 14.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Duke Energy Stock Down 0.2%

DUK stock opened at $123.57 on Tuesday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $125.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $124.11. Duke Energy Corporation has a 52-week low of $113.89 and a 52-week high of $134.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $96.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.92 and a beta of 0.39.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $9.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.44 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.49% and a return on equity of 9.73%. The company's revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.76 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.71 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a dividend of $1.065 per share. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. Duke Energy's payout ratio is 65.24%.

Duke Energy Company 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.

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