Smith Asset Management Co. LLC Takes Position in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Key Points

• Smith Asset Management Co. LLC has acquired a new stake in Duke Energy Corporation, purchasing 3,516 shares valued at approximately $429,000 in the first quarter of 2023.
• Recent insider trading includes EVP Thomas Preston Jr. Gillespie selling 6,700 shares for $832,542, marking a 12.61% decrease in their ownership stake.
• Duke Energy has increased its quarterly dividend to $1.065 per share, representing an annualized dividend of $4.26 and a yield of 3.5%.

Smith Asset Management Co. LLC purchased a new stake in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 3,516 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $429,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in DUK. Activest Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 98.1% in the 1st quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 212 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the period. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Mattson Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Thomas Preston Jr. Gillespie sold 6,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.26, for a total value of $832,542.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Bonnie B. Titone sold 2,000 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.38, for a total transaction of $248,760.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 19,608 shares in the company, valued at $2,438,843.04. This represents a 9.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of DUK opened at $120.21 on Tuesday. Duke Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $105.20 and a twelve month high of $127.85. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $121.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $119.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.55, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last announced 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). Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.51% and a return on equity of 9.85%. The firm had revenue of $7.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.18 earnings per share. 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 forecast that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a $1.065 dividend. This represents a $4.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This is a positive change from Duke Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.27%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DUK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $131.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $127.00 price objective (up from $124.00) on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Friday, July 11th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Duke Energy currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $130.62.

Duke Energy Company Profile

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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