Duke Energy Corporation $DUK Shares Acquired by Ethic Inc.

Key Points

• Ethic Inc. increased its holdings in Duke Energy Corporation (DUK) by 37.2%, owning 13,163 shares valued at approximately $1.59 million after purchasing an additional 3,569 shares in Q1.
• Duke Energy announced a quarterly dividend of $1.065 per share, set to be paid on September 16th, reflecting an increase from its previous dividend of $1.05.
• Recent analyst reports have increased price targets for Duke Energy, with BMO Capital Markets raising it from $131 to $132, indicating a positive outlook for the stock.

Ethic Inc. increased its position in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 37.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 13,163 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 3,569 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,594,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GQG Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 17,880.0% in the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 10,249,508 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,250,133,000 after purchasing an additional 10,192,503 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $702,351,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 74,562,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $9,094,327,000 after acquiring an additional 1,676,061 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 14,268.8% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,663,183 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $202,858,000 after acquiring an additional 1,651,608 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 4,838,705 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $521,322,000 after acquiring an additional 625,008 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Bonnie B. Titone sold 2,000 shares of Duke Energy 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 19,608 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,438,843.04. The trade was a 9.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Thomas Preston Jr. Gillespie sold 6,700 shares of Duke Energy 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 46,422 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of DUK traded up $0.0740 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $124.2140. The company had a trading volume of 2,182,812 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,497,655. The company's 50 day moving average price is $119.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $118.35. The stock has a market cap of $96.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.20, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.36. Duke Energy Corporation has a 52 week low of $105.20 and a 52 week high of $127.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.29 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $7.51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.18 EPS. Duke Energy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.170-6.420 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a $1.065 dividend. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This is an increase from Duke Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. Duke Energy's payout ratio is presently 69.27%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $131.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 price objective on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $130.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Friday, June 13th. They issued a "market perform" rating on the stock. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $130.07.

Duke Energy Company 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.