Royal Bank of Canada Buys 418,014 Shares of Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Key Points

• The Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in Duke Energy by 4.9%, acquiring an additional 418,014 shares, bringing its total holdings to approximately 1.15% of the company worth over $1 billion.
• Duke Energy recently reported a quarterly EPS of $1.25, missing expectations, but its revenue exceeded forecasts at $7.51 billion, reflecting a 4.7% year-over-year increase.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend to $1.065 from $1.05, providing an annualized dividend yield of 3.5%.

Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 4.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,921,517 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 418,014 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned approximately 1.15% of Duke Energy worth $1,088,158,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. GQG Partners LLC boosted 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 last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 1st quarter valued at $702,351,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 88.1% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 4,861,309 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $592,934,000 after buying an additional 2,276,948 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,676,061 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 14,268.8% during the 1st 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 period. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Thomas Preston Jr. Gillespie sold 6,700 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.26, for a total value 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Bonnie B. Titone sold 2,000 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.38, for a total value of $248,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 19,608 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,438,843.04. This represents a 9.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on DUK. BMO Capital Markets increased 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. Citigroup increased their price target on Duke Energy from $130.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $127.00 target price (up from $124.00) on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Friday, July 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 target price on Duke Energy in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Duke Energy from $127.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $130.62.

Duke Energy Price Performance

NYSE:DUK traded down $0.59 on Thursday, reaching $120.91. 3,069,419 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,532,144. 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 stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $120.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $118.79. The firm has a market cap of $94.03 billion, a PE ratio of 19.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.39. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.29 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $7.51 billion for 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 company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.18 EPS. Duke Energy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.170-6.420 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a $1.065 dividend. This is an increase 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 is Friday, August 15th. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.27%.

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.