Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. Decreases Stake in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Key Points

• Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. has reduced its stake in Duke Energy Corporation by 18.9%, selling 6,429 shares and now holding 27,545 shares valued at approximately $3.25 million.
• Duke Energy reported earnings per share of $1.25 in its latest quarter, missing estimates by $0.04, while revenue increased by 4.7% year-over-year to $7.51 billion.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.065 per share, marking an increase from its previous dividend and representing a 3.5% dividend yield.

Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. decreased its position in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 18.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 27,545 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 6,429 shares during the period. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc.'s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $3,250,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of DUK. GQG Partners LLC boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 17,880.0% in the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 10,249,508 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,250,133,000 after buying an additional 10,192,503 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy in the first quarter worth approximately $702,351,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its holdings 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 worth $592,934,000 after purchasing an additional 2,276,948 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 2.3% during 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 acquiring an additional 1,676,061 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 14,268.8% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy

In other Duke Energy news, SVP Bonnie B. Titone sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.38, for a total transaction of $248,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Thomas Preston Jr. Gillespie sold 6,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were 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 $5,768,397.72. The trade was a 12.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on DUK. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $131.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Raymond James Financial began coverage on 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 price objective on Duke Energy in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $130.62.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of DUK stock traded up $0.69 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $121.08. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,842,020 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,481,872. Duke Energy Corporation has a 52-week low of $105.20 and a 52-week high of $127.85. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $121.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $119.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.66. The stock has a market cap of $94.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.69, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.39.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.25 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $7.51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.18 EPS. The business's 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. Research analysts predict that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a $1.065 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. This is an increase from Duke Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.