Sterling Capital Management LLC Purchases 47,844 Shares of Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Key Points

• Sterling Capital Management boosted its Duke Energy stake by 125.8% in the first quarter, buying 47,844 more shares and bringing its total holdings to 85,875 shares worth about $11.24 million.
• Duke Energy beat quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $1.93 versus $1.87 expected and revenue of $9.18 billion versus $8.44 billion expected, with revenue up 11.3% year over year.
• Analysts remain cautiously positive: the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $138.33, while the company also pays a quarterly dividend of $1.065, or $4.26 annually, for a 3.3% yield.

Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 125.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 85,875 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 47,844 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC's holdings in Duke Energy were worth $11,244,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,854 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $229,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. A4 Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Duke Energy by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. A4 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,597 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $304,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. Elm Partners Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Elm Partners Management LLC now owns 9,254 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,085,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC now owns 2,113 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $261,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 35.0% during the 4th quarter. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID now owns 324 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DUK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $132.00 to $136.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $139.00 to $135.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Evercore increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $139.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Duke Energy from $143.00 to $138.00 in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Monday, May 4th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $138.33.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Duke Energy stock opened at $128.35 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.66. The company has a market capitalization of $100.06 billion, a PE ratio of 19.66 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $124.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $124.32. Duke Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $113.89 and a fifty-two week high of $134.49.

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

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th were issued a $1.065 dividend. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. Duke Energy's payout ratio is presently 65.24%.

Insider Transactions at Duke Energy

In other news, CEO Harry K. Sideris sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.37, for a total value of $2,487,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 96,102 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,952,205.74. The trade was a 17.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Louis E. Renjel sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.15, for a total transaction of $438,025.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 21,415 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,680,087.25. This represents a 14.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Key Duke Energy News

Here are the key news stories impacting Duke Energy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Duke Energy is being highlighted as a defensive stock in a higher-inflation, higher-rate environment, which can attract income-oriented investors looking for stability and dividends. Buy 4 Defensive Stocks as Inflation Hits Highest Level in 3 Years
• Positive Sentiment: Mizuho reiterated an Outperform rating on Duke Energy, saying it can execute despite near-term regulatory challenges; the firm also maintained a higher price target than the current trading range. Mizuho Says Duke Energy (DUK) Can Execute Despite Near-Term Regulatory Challenges
• Positive Sentiment: Duke Energy’s efforts to harden the grid ahead of hurricane season, including “self-healing” upgrades, could support reliability and reduce outage risk over time. Duke Energy prepares for hurricane season with “self-healing” upgrades
• Neutral Sentiment: The company is also being discussed as a high-dividend blue-chip utility, reinforcing its appeal as a steady income name rather than a growth stock. Is Duke Energy (DUK) One of the Best S&P 500 Stocks to Buy for Dividends?
• Negative Sentiment: North Carolina’s attorney general still says Duke’s revised request for an 11.6% rate hike is too high, keeping regulatory pressure front and center for the stock. Duke Energy cuts proposed NC rate hike to 11.6%, still too high, AG says
• Negative Sentiment: Fresh headlines about a lawsuit over Duke’s solar procurement pause and local service disruptions, including an Asheville outage, add to concerns about operations and public scrutiny. Lawsuit targets Duke Energy solar pause that could raise customer bills Power outage hits downtown Asheville; underground equipment damaged: Duke Energy
• Negative Sentiment: Community pushback in places like Clearwater and Swain County over Duke projects suggests continued local resistance that could slow development or raise costs. Clearwater considers replacing Duke Energy with city-owned electric utility Swain property owners express Duke Needmore route concerns

Duke Energy Profile

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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