WESPAC Advisors LLC Invests $661,000 in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Key Points

• WESPAC Advisors LLC has invested approximately $661,000 in Duke Energy, acquiring 5,605 shares of the utilities provider during the 2nd quarter.
• Analysts have set a consensus price target of $133.08 for Duke Energy, with ten analysts rating the stock as a Buy and six as Hold.
• Duke Energy recently increased its quarterly dividend to $1.065 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 3.4%.

WESPAC Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 5,605 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $661,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of DUK. Activest Wealth Management boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 53.7% in the 2nd quarter. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC now owns 249 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 360.0% in the 1st quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 253 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DUK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Scotiabank set a $137.00 price target on Duke Energy and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Friday. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $127.00 price target (up previously from $124.00) on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Raymond James Financial began coverage on Duke Energy in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They issued a "market perform" rating on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 price objective on Duke Energy in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $133.08.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of DUK opened at $125.49 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $122.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $119.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.66. Duke Energy Corporation has a 52-week low of $105.20 and a 52-week high of $127.85. The company has a market cap of $97.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.41, a PEG ratio of 3.00 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.29 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $7.51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.07 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.51% and a return on equity of 9.85%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.18 EPS. Duke Energy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.170-6.420 EPS. Analysts predict 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 was paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th were given a dividend of $1.065 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. This is an increase from Duke Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. This represents a $4.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 69.27%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Bonnie B. Titone sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 19,608 shares in the company, valued at $2,438,843.04. The trade was a 9.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Thomas Preston Jr. Gillespie sold 6,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 sale, 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. 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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