OLD Republic International Corp Sells 109,035 Shares of Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Key Points

• OLD Republic International cut its Duke Energy stake by 22.2% in the fourth quarter, selling 109,035 shares and leaving it with 383,196 shares valued at about $44.9 million.
• Duke Energy continues to see mixed but generally supportive analyst sentiment, with nine Buy ratings and nine Hold ratings for a consensus Moderate Buy and an average price target of $139.07.
• The company posted a strong quarterly earnings beat, reporting $1.93 EPS versus $1.87 expected and revenue of $9.18 billion, while also announcing a quarterly dividend of $1.065 per share, or $4.26 annually.

OLD Republic International Corp trimmed its position in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 22.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 383,196 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 109,035 shares during the period. Duke Energy comprises 1.8% of OLD Republic International Corp's investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. OLD Republic International Corp's holdings in Duke Energy were worth $44,914,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Duke Energy by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 78,258,757 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $9,172,709,000 after purchasing an additional 1,957,592 shares in the last quarter. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd bought a new stake in Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter worth about $86,309,000. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al grew its position in Duke Energy by 447.3% in the 4th quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al now owns 513,905 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $60,235,000 after purchasing an additional 420,005 shares in the last quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec grew its position in Duke Energy by 19.1% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec now owns 2,613,595 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $323,432,000 after purchasing an additional 419,992 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich grew its position in Duke Energy by 178.1% in the 4th quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 505,891 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $59,376,000 after purchasing an additional 323,991 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

In related news, CEO Louis E. Renjel sold 3,500 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 21,415 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,680,087.25. The trade was a 14.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Harry K. Sideris sold 20,000 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.37, for a total transaction of $2,487,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 96,102 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,952,205.74. This represents a 17.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 24,462 shares of company stock worth $3,048,426. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DUK has been the subject of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Monday, May 4th. BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating and set a $141.00 target price on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Duke Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 28th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $139.00 to $138.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $130.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $139.07.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.9%

Duke Energy stock opened at $125.78 on Friday. Duke Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $113.39 and a twelve month high of $134.49. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $128.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $124.02. The company has a market capitalization of $98.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.26 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.87 by $0.06. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.49% and a return on equity of 9.73%. The business had revenue of $9.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.76 EPS. Duke Energy's revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.71 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

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

Duke Energy News Summary

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.

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