IFM Investors Pty Ltd Purchases 14,522 Shares of Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Key Points

• IFM Investors Pty Ltd increased its stake in Duke Energy Corporation by 8.6%, acquiring an additional 14,522 shares, bringing their total holdings to 184,348 shares valued at approximately $21.75 million.
• Duke Energy recently announced a quarterly dividend increase from $1.05 to $1.065 per share, indicating a strong annualized yield of 3.5%.
• The company reported a miss in earnings per share at $1.25, below the consensus estimate of $1.29, alongside revenue growth of 4.7% year-over-year.

IFM Investors Pty Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 8.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 184,348 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 14,522 shares during the period. IFM Investors Pty Ltd's holdings in Duke Energy were worth $21,753,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. Activest Wealth Management lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 98.1% during the first quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 212 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Mattson Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Thomas Preston Jr. Gillespie sold 6,700 shares of the company's 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 directly 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 sale 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 company'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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 19,608 shares in the company, valued at $2,438,843.04. This represents a 9.26% 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 corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on DUK shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $131.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $127.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Barclays upped their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They issued a "market perform" rating on the stock. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $130.62.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:DUK traded up $0.69 on Friday, hitting $121.08. 4,842,020 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,380,597. The company's 50 day moving average price is $121.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $119.31. Duke Energy Corporation has a one year low of $105.20 and a one year high of $127.85. 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 firm has a market capitalization 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 posted 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 company had revenue of $7.51 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.18 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Duke Energy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.170-6.420 EPS. Research analysts expect that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

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

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.