Golden State Equity Partners Lowers Stock Position in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Key Points

• Golden State Equity Partners reduced its stake in Duke Energy Corporation by 36.7%, selling 3,513 shares, which left it with 6,058 shares valued at approximately $715,000.
• Duke Energy recently increased its quarterly dividend to $1.065 per share, up from $1.05, demonstrating a solid dividend yield of 3.5%.
• Wall Street analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Duke Energy, with a target price averaging $130.62, reflecting positive expectations for the stock's performance.

Golden State Equity Partners lessened its holdings in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 36.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,058 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 3,513 shares during the period. Golden State Equity Partners' holdings in Duke Energy were worth $715,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Duke Energy by 338.6% during the first quarter. Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 37,763 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $4,606,000 after acquiring an additional 29,153 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Duke Energy by 7.7% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 291,667 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $35,575,000 after acquiring an additional 20,942 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc lifted its position in Duke Energy by 9.9% during the first quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 127,419 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $14,451,000 after acquiring an additional 11,445 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in Duke Energy by 8.1% during the 1st quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. now owns 51,354 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $6,264,000 after purchasing an additional 3,837 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Duke Energy by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,656,244 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,055,087,000 after purchasing an additional 93,699 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Duke Energy

In other Duke Energy 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 transaction of $248,760.00. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 46,422 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,768,397.72. This 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 owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DUK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They set a "market perform" rating on the stock. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $131.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $130.62.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Duke Energy stock opened at $121.71 on Tuesday. Duke Energy Corporation has a 12-month low of $105.20 and a 12-month high of $127.85. The stock has a market cap of $94.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.79, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $121.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $119.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55.

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 (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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.18 earnings per share. Duke Energy's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Duke Energy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.170-6.420 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were given a dividend of $1.065 per share. This is a boost from Duke Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. This represents a $4.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. 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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