Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA Purchases 56,605 Shares of Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Key Points

• Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA increased its Duke Energy stake by 84.4% in the second quarter, purchasing 56,605 shares for a total holding of 123,711 shares valued at approximately $15.7 million. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus on Duke Energy, with 10 Buy ratings and 8 Holds and an average price target of $138.44.
• Duke Energy beat quarterly EPS estimates, reporting $1.43 versus the expected $1.30, while revenue rose 1.1% year over year. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $1.085 per share, representing a 3.5% annualized yield.

Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 84.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 123,711 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 56,605 shares during the quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA's holdings in Duke Energy were worth $15,659,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. World Investment Advisors grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 62.7% in the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 42,680 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $5,003,000 after purchasing an additional 16,450 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 22.7% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 132,530 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $15,534,000 after buying an additional 24,497 shares during the period. Sarasin & Partners LLP raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 15.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 1,283,213 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $162,429,000 after buying an additional 170,700 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 29.3% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 53,861 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $6,313,000 after buying an additional 12,219 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meritage Portfolio Management acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,018,000. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on DUK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $136.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $135.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. KeyCorp upgraded Duke Energy from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $139.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Barclays dropped their price target on Duke Energy from $140.00 to $132.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $138.00 price target on Duke Energy in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $138.44.

More Duke Energy News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Utilities could benefit from rising electricity demand tied to the rapid expansion of artificial-intelligence data centers. The trend supports Duke Energy’s long-term generation and grid-investment opportunity, although the referenced article focuses on utility ETFs rather than DUK specifically. Utility ETFs to Buy as Rapid AI Buildout Sparks Energy Crisis
• Positive Sentiment: Duke Energy has restored most power after severe storms in Greater Cincinnati, with nearly 223,000 outages addressed and crews working to restore the remaining customers. Faster restoration limits prolonged service disruption and reputational damage. Duke Energy restores 85% of Greater Cincinnati outages
• Neutral Sentiment: The Duke Energy Foundation announced $500,000 for North Carolina small-business programs and emergency grants for storm recovery in Ohio and Kentucky. The initiatives may support community relations but are not financially material to DUK. Duke Energy invests $500,000 to help small businesses
• Negative Sentiment: Duke Energy completed the sale of 40 million equity units. The financing provides capital for infrastructure and growth, but the additional equity can dilute existing shareholders and signals substantial funding needs. Duke Energy Completes Major Equity Units Financing Offering
• Negative Sentiment: North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson is challenging a proposed 6.8% residential rate increase and rejecting the related settlement. Regulatory opposition raises uncertainty over Duke’s ability to recover costs and earn its targeted returns. AG Jeff Jackson rejects Duke Energy settlement
• Negative Sentiment: A proposed Duke Energy plant is drawing opposition in Davie and Davidson counties, creating potential permitting, construction and political obstacles. More than 2,000 customers also remained without power during severe storms, highlighting near-term reliability and restoration costs. Duke Energy plant proposal draws opposition

Duke Energy Stock Down 0.5%

NYSE:DUK opened at $123.83 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $96.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.38. Duke Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $113.89 and a twelve month high of $134.49. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $125.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $126.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.13. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.78% and a net margin of 15.78%.The company had revenue of $7.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.66 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.25 EPS. The business's revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a dividend of $1.085 per share. This represents a $4.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. This is an increase from Duke Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $1.06. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. Duke Energy's payout ratio is currently 63.96%.

About Duke Energy

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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