Merit Financial Group LLC Acquires 8,108 Shares of Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Key Points

• Merit Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Duke Energy Corporation by 19.0%, acquiring an additional 8,108 shares to hold a total of 50,801 shares valued at approximately $5.995 million.
• Duke Energy reported earnings per share (EPS) of $1.25 for the last quarter, missing estimates by $0.04, but revenue was up 4.7% year-over-year, reaching $7.51 billion.
• The company recently raised its quarterly dividend from $1.05 to $1.065 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 3.4% for investors.

Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 19.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 50,801 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 8,108 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in Duke Energy were worth $5,995,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Duke Energy by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 74,562,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $9,094,327,000 after purchasing an additional 1,676,061 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC raised its stake in Duke Energy by 17,880.0% during the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 10,249,508 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,250,133,000 after purchasing an additional 10,192,503 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 8,921,517 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,088,158,000 after buying an additional 418,014 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 93,699 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 8,153,615 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $994,496,000 after buying an additional 152,542 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $123.58 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $96.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.44. 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 50 day moving average price of $122.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $119.61. Duke Energy Corporation has a one year low of $105.20 and a one year high of $127.85.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.18 EPS. Duke Energy'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. Equities analysts expect that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $1.065 per share. This represents a $4.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. This is an increase from Duke Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.27%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on DUK shares. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Saturday, September 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Duke Energy from $127.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Duke Energy from $131.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Barclays raised their price target on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Scotiabank set a $137.00 target price on Duke Energy and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Friday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $132.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Thomas Preston Jr. Gillespie sold 6,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 $5,768,397.72. The trade was a 12.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Bonnie B. Titone sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,438,843.04. The trade was a 9.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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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