Exchange Traded Concepts LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Key Points

• Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its stake in Duke Energy Corporation by 6.3%, acquiring an additional 16,727 shares to reach a total of 283,064 shares, worth approximately $33.4 million.
• Major institutional investors have amended their holdings in Duke Energy, with Vanguard Group and GQG Partners showing significant increases in their investments during the first quarter of the year.
• Duke Energy recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.065 per share, up from the previous dividend of $1.05, with a current annualized yield of 3.5%.

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its position in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 6.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 283,064 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 16,727 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC's holdings in Duke Energy were worth $33,402,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GQG Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 17,880.0% during the first 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 bought a new stake in Duke Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $702,351,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its stake in Duke Energy by 88.1% in the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 4,861,309 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $592,934,000 after purchasing an additional 2,276,948 shares in the last quarter. 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 in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Duke Energy by 14,268.8% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,663,183 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $202,858,000 after purchasing an additional 1,651,608 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DUK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Raymond James Financial began coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Friday, June 13th. They set a "market perform" rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 target price on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $127.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $130.62.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:DUK traded up $0.32 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $121.40. The company had a trading volume of 715,864 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,466,137. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.42. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $121.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $119.34. Duke Energy Corporation has a one year low of $105.20 and a one year high of $127.85. The company has a market capitalization of $94.40 billion, a PE ratio of 19.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.39.

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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.29 by ($0.04). Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 15.51%.The business had revenue of $7.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.18 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Duke Energy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.170-6.420 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a $1.065 dividend. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. This is a positive change from Duke Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy

In related news, EVP Thomas Preston Jr. Gillespie sold 6,700 shares of the 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 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Bonnie B. Titone sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.38, for a total transaction of $248,760.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

About Duke Energy

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.