LifePlan Financial LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

LifePlan Financial LLC grew its stake in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,999 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 469 shares during the quarter. Duke Energy accounts for approximately 1.0% of LifePlan Financial LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. LifePlan Financial LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,180,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. GQG Partners LLC increased its position in Duke Energy by 17,880.0% during the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 10,249,508 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,250,133,000 after buying an additional 10,192,503 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy during the first quarter worth approximately $702,351,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its position in Duke Energy by 88.1% during the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 4,861,309 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $592,934,000 after buying an additional 2,276,948 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Duke Energy by 2.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 74,562,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,094,327,000 after buying an additional 1,676,061 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 14,268.8% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,663,183 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $202,858,000 after purchasing an additional 1,651,608 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on DUK shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $131.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Barclays lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 price target on Duke Energy in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Raymond James Financial started coverage on Duke Energy in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Finally, UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $127.00 price target (up from $124.00) on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $130.62.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Duke Energy news, 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 transaction of $248,760.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 19,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,438,843.04. This trade represents a 9.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 46,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,768,397.72. This represents a 12.61% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Price Performance

DUK stock opened at $122.40 on Tuesday. Duke Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $105.20 and a 1 year high of $127.85. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $121.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $119.22. 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 cap of $95.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.39.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by ($0.04). Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.51% and a return on equity of 9.85%. The business had revenue of $7.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.18 EPS. Duke Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Duke Energy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.170-6.420 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 earnings per share 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.065 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $4.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. This is a boost from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.27%.

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.