Ameriflex Group Inc. Buys 478 Shares of Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Ameriflex Group Inc. raised its stake in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 15.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,644 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 478 shares during the period. Ameriflex Group Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $424,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Toth Financial Advisory Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 31.6% during the 1st quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 346 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. now owns 1,827 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $223,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,034 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $370,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the period. Lokken Investment Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Lokken Investment Group LLC now owns 2,633 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $321,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the period. Finally, Sheets Smith Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management now owns 27,517 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,356,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

In other news, SVP Bonnie B. Titone sold 2,000 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at $2,438,843.04. The trade was a 9.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Thomas Preston Jr. Gillespie sold 6,700 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.26, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 12.61% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Duke Energy Trading Up 1.7%

DUK opened at $123.58 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $96.10 billion, a PE ratio of 20.09, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.44. Duke Energy Corporation has a 1-year low of $105.20 and a 1-year high of $127.85. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $122.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $119.61.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.29 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $7.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.18 EPS. Duke Energy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.170-6.420 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. This is a positive change from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.27%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 price target on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $131.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Saturday, September 27th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $127.00 price target (up from $124.00) on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Scotiabank set a $137.00 price target on shares of Duke Energy and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $132.25.

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.