Townsend & Associates Inc Sells 5,705 Shares of Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Key Points

• Townsend & Associates Inc reduced its stake in Duke Energy Corporation by 14.8%, selling 5,705 shares during the 2nd quarter, leaving it with 32,762 shares worth approximately $3.93 million.
• Analysts have given Duke Energy a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $136.77, while TD Cowen has set a target price of $143.00.
• Duke Energy recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.065 per share, representing a 3.3% yield, with the payment scheduled for December 16th.

Townsend & Associates Inc cut its holdings in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 14.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,762 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 5,705 shares during the quarter. Townsend & Associates Inc's holdings in Duke Energy were worth $3,929,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Duke Energy by 2.3% in 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 acquiring an additional 1,676,061 shares in the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC lifted its position 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 in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in Duke Energy by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 8,921,517 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,088,158,000 after acquiring an additional 418,014 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Duke Energy by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,656,244 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,055,087,000 after acquiring an additional 93,699 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Duke Energy by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 8,153,615 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $994,496,000 after acquiring an additional 152,542 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on DUK shares. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Thursday. They set a "buy" rating and a $143.00 target price for the company. Scotiabank set a $137.00 target price on shares of Duke Energy and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $131.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Cowen started coverage on Duke Energy in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $136.77.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of DUK stock opened at $128.55 on Monday. Duke Energy Corporation has a 52-week low of $105.20 and a 52-week high of $129.51. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $99.96 billion, a PE ratio of 20.90, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.44. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $123.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $120.10.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $7.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.18 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Duke Energy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.170-6.420 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 14th will be paid a $1.065 dividend. This represents a $4.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 14th. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 69.27%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Bonnie B. Titone sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.38, for a total transaction of $248,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Thomas Preston Jr. Gillespie sold 6,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.26, for a total value of $832,542.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 46,422 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,768,397.72. The trade was a 12.61% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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