Martingale Asset Management L P Invests $849,000 in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Key Points

• Martingale Asset Management L P has acquired a new stake in Duke Energy Corporation valued at approximately $849,000 by purchasing 6,963 shares in the 1st quarter.
• Duke Energy announced a quarterly dividend increase to $1.065, reflecting a 3.4% dividend yield for shareholders.
• Analysts have upgraded Duke Energy's stock price targets, with Barclays raising their objective to $131.00 and Citigroup to $142.00, reflecting a consensus target price of $130.07.

Martingale Asset Management L P acquired a new position in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 6,963 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $849,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. GQG Partners LLC lifted 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 worth $1,250,133,000 after acquiring an additional 10,192,503 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Duke Energy in the first quarter worth about $702,351,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 2,276,948 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 2.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 74,562,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $9,094,327,000 after acquiring an additional 1,676,061 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position 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 buying an additional 1,651,608 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, SVP Bonnie B. Titone sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.38, for a total value of $248,760.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 19,608 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,438,843.04. This represents a 9.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Thomas Preston Jr. Gillespie sold 6,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.26, for a total transaction of $832,542.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 46,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,768,397.72. This trade represents a 12.61% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Duke Energy stock traded down $1.18 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $122.50. The company had a trading volume of 2,496,426 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,558,523. The stock has a market cap of $95.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.92, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $120.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $118.54. Duke Energy Corporation has a 12-month low of $105.20 and a 12-month high of $127.85.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last announced 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). The company had revenue of $7.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.07 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.51% and a return on equity of 9.85%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.18 earnings per share. Duke Energy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.170-6.420 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a $1.065 dividend. This is a boost from Duke Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 69.27%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on DUK. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $127.00 price target (up from $124.00) on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Friday, July 11th. BMO Capital Markets increased 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. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $130.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $127.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $130.07.

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.