Smartleaf Asset Management LLC Increases Holdings in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Key Points

• Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Duke Energy Corporation by 22.1%, owning 14,718 shares valued at approximately $1.76 million after purchasing an additional 2,660 shares in Q1.
• Duke Energy reported earnings of $1.25 per share, missing analyst expectations, despite a revenue increase to $7.51 billion and a quarterly revenue growth of 4.7% year-over-year.
• The company has declared a quarterly dividend of $1.065, up from $1.05, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 3.4% with a payout ratio of 69.27%.

Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 22.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,718 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 2,660 shares during the quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC's holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,758,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. GQG Partners LLC raised its stake in Duke Energy by 17,880.0% in 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 acquiring an additional 10,192,503 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the first quarter worth $702,351,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 valued at $592,934,000 after purchasing an additional 2,276,948 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 1,676,061 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in 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 worth $202,858,000 after purchasing an additional 1,651,608 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Duke Energy Price Performance

DUK stock traded up $0.15 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $123.26. 3,102,019 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,467,169. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $120.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $118.50. Duke Energy Corporation has a 12 month low of $105.20 and a 12 month high of $127.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $95.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.04, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.36.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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). Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 15.51%.The firm had revenue of $7.51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.18 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue 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. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a $1.065 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. 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%. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 69.27%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on DUK shares. Barclays lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $127.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $127.00 price target (up from $124.00) on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Friday, July 11th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Raymond James Financial began coverage on Duke Energy in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They set a "market perform" rating for the company. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $130.07.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Thomas Preston Jr. Gillespie sold 6,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.26, for a total transaction of $832,542.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 46,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,768,397.72. This represents a 12.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Bonnie B. Titone sold 2,000 shares of the business's 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 directly owned 19,608 shares in the company, valued at $2,438,843.04. This trade represents a 9.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

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.