Legal & General Group Plc Cuts Stake in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc trimmed its Duke Energy stake by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, though it still held about 6.18 million shares valued at roughly $724.6 million.
• Duke Energy reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings, posting $1.93 EPS versus $1.87 expected and revenue of $9.18 billion, with revenue up 11.3% year over year.
• The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $1.065 per share, equal to an annualized payout of $4.26 and a yield of about 3.4%, while analysts currently view the stock as a Moderate Buy with a consensus price target of $139.07.

Legal & General Group Plc reduced its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,182,010 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 153,647 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.79% of Duke Energy worth $724,593,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. Dorato Capital Management purchased a new stake in Duke Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp purchased a new stake in Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Duke Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 300.0% in the 4th quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 280 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 13,750.0% in the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 277 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

In related news, CEO Louis E. Renjel sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.15, for a total value of $438,025.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 21,415 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,680,087.25. This trade represents a 14.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Regis T. Repko sold 962 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.86, for a total transaction of $123,001.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 3,896 shares in the company, valued at $498,142.56. This trade represents a 19.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 24,462 shares of company stock valued at $3,048,426 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE DUK opened at $125.78 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $128.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $124.02. The company has a market capitalization of $98.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.26 and a beta of 0.41. Duke Energy Corporation has a 12 month low of $113.39 and a 12 month high of $134.49.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.87 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $9.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.44 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.49% and a return on equity of 9.73%. The company's revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.76 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a $1.065 dividend. This represents a $4.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.24%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DUK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $139.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $135.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $142.00 to $137.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $127.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $139.07.

Key Stories Impacting Duke Energy

Here are the key news stories impacting Duke Energy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Duke Energy is being viewed as a potential beneficiary of surging power demand from data centers, which could support future generation growth and regulated utility investment opportunities. Why Duke Energy (DUK) Is Becoming a Data Center Power Demand Play
• Positive Sentiment: Goldman Sachs reiterated its bullish view by keeping Duke Energy on its Conviction List and assigning a $132 target, signaling confidence in regulatory progress and the company’s expansion plans. Why Duke Energy (DUK) Is Becoming a Data Center Power Demand Play
• Positive Sentiment: Utility-sector demand tailwinds linked to AI infrastructure are also supporting sentiment toward Duke Energy and other dividend-paying utilities. These 3 Utility Stocks Have Been Paying Dividends for Decades and AI Data Centers Just Made Them More Valuable
• Neutral Sentiment: North Carolina lawmakers moved to require approval for replacement nuclear capacity before Duke can retire coal plants, which could slow the company’s transition plans but may also protect near-term generation reliability and earnings visibility. North Carolina lawmakers just moved to block Duke Energy from closing coal plants until new nuclear is approved to replace every lost megawatt
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley cut its price target on Duke Energy to $132 from $141 while maintaining an Equalweight rating, a modestly softer analyst signal but still above the recent share price. Morgan Stanley adjusts price target on Duke Energy to 132 from 141
• Neutral Sentiment: Other items, including local outage and customer-service updates, appear operational in nature and are unlikely to materially affect the stock. Power restored for Duke Energy customers in Sullivan County

About Duke Energy

Duke Energy Corporation is a U.S.-based electric power holding company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company's core business is the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers. Duke Energy operates a mix of regulated electric utilities and non-regulated energy businesses, providing essential energy infrastructure and services across multiple states.

Its operating activities include owning and operating generation assets across a portfolio that encompasses nuclear, natural gas, coal, hydroelectric and an expanding array of renewable resources, as well as battery storage and grid modernization projects.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding DUK? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.