Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. Sells 2,430 Shares of Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Key Points

• Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. reduced its stake in Duke Energy Corporation by 7.1%, selling 2,430 shares, resulting in a total of 31,937 shares valued at approximately $3.77 million.
• Duke Energy's quarterly earnings report revealed an EPS of $1.25, missing the consensus estimate of $1.29, although revenues exceeded expectations at $7.51 billion, up 4.7% from the previous year.
• The company recently increased its quarterly dividend to $1.065 per share, leading to an annualized dividend of $4.26 and a dividend yield of 3.4%.

Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. lessened its stake in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 7.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,937 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 2,430 shares during the period. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.'s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $3,769,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DUK. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 11.6% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,754 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $728,000 after buying an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Lake Street Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 8.0% during the 1st quarter. Lake Street Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,717 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $453,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 2,278 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $278,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Trust Co boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 6.7% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Trust Co now owns 3,207 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $391,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Breakwater Capital Group boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 30.2% during the 1st quarter. Breakwater Capital Group now owns 3,882 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $473,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DUK has been the topic of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Duke Energy from $131.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 target price on Duke Energy in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Scotiabank set a $137.00 target price on Duke Energy and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $127.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $132.25.

Duke Energy Stock Up 1.7%

DUK stock opened at $123.58 on Friday. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $122.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $119.61. Duke Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $105.20 and a fifty-two week high of $127.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.66. The company has a market cap of $96.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.44.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.29 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $7.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.07 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 15.51%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.18 earnings per share. Duke Energy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.170-6.420 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a $1.065 dividend. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. This is a boost from Duke Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.27%.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

In other news, EVP Thomas Preston Jr. Gillespie sold 6,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 46,422 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,768,397.72. This represents a 12.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Bonnie B. Titone sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 19,608 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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.

Duke Energy 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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