Financial Symmetry Inc Acquires New Stake in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Key Points

• Financial Symmetry Inc acquired a new stake in Duke Energy Corporation, purchasing 2,887 shares valued at approximately $341,000.
• Recent analyst reports indicate a positive outlook for Duke Energy, with several firms raising their price targets to a consensus of $136.77 and a rating of "Moderate Buy."
• Duke Energy announced a quarterly dividend of $1.065 per share, to be paid on December 16th, representing an annualized dividend yield of 3.3%.

Financial Symmetry Inc acquired a new stake in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 2,887 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $341,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. Activest Wealth Management grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 98.1% in the 1st quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 212 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Duke Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Duke Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 53.7% during the 2nd quarter. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC now owns 249 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 360.0% during the 1st quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 253 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DUK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Scotiabank set a $137.00 price target on Duke Energy and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Cowen assumed coverage on Duke Energy in a report on Wednesday. They set a "buy" rating for the company. UBS Group raised their target price on Duke Energy from $131.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Duke Energy from $134.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Duke Energy has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $136.77.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Thomas Preston Jr. Gillespie sold 6,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.26, for a total transaction of $832,542.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 46,422 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,768,397.72. This trade represents a 12.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Bonnie B. Titone sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.38, for a total value of $248,760.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 19,608 shares in the company, valued at $2,438,843.04. This trade represents a 9.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $128.55 on Monday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $99.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.44. The business has a 50-day moving average of $123.34 and a 200 day moving average of $120.10. Duke Energy Corporation has a 12 month low of $105.20 and a 12 month high of $129.51.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.29 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $7.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.07 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.51% and a return on equity of 9.85%. Duke Energy's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $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 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

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

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.

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