Vista Cima Wealth Management LLC Makes New Investment in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Key Points

• Vista Cima Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy Corporation, purchasing 442,871 shares valued at approximately $54,000, representing about 0.06% of the company.
• Analysts have set a current average target price of $130.62 for Duke Energy stock, with nine rating it as a Buy and five as Hold.
• Duke Energy recently announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $1.065, reflecting a 3.5% yield, with the ex-dividend date set for August 15th.

Vista Cima Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 442,871 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $54,000. Vista Cima Wealth Management LLC owned about 0.06% of Duke Energy as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Activest Wealth Management boosted 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 purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Mattson Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 price objective on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $127.00 target price (up previously from $124.00) on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $131.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Raymond James Financial began coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They set a "market perform" rating on the stock. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $130.62.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

DUK opened at $121.32 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The company's fifty day moving average price is $121.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $119.07. Duke Energy Corporation has a 1-year low of $105.20 and a 1-year high of $127.85. The company has a market cap of $94.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.73, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.39.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $7.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.07 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.51% and a return on equity of 9.85%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.18 EPS. Duke Energy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.170-6.420 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 is an increase from Duke Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 69.27%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Thomas Preston Jr. Gillespie sold 6,700 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 46,422 shares in the company, 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 at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Bonnie B. Titone sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.38, for a total transaction of $248,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 19,608 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,438,843.04. This represents a 9.26% decrease in their position. 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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