Mariner LLC Grows Position in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Mariner LLC increased its holdings in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,146,514 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 60,877 shares during the quarter. Mariner LLC owned about 0.15% of Duke Energy worth $141,872,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Duke Energy by 11.6% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,754 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $728,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 19.6% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 23,162 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,825,000 after buying an additional 3,797 shares during the period. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 31,238 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,686,000 after buying an additional 315 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 91.9% in the second quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 5,428 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $641,000 after acquiring an additional 2,600 shares during the period. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 63.2% in the second quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 55,384 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,535,000 after acquiring an additional 21,438 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.3%

NYSE DUK opened at $133.54 on Tuesday. Duke Energy Corporation has a 52 week low of $111.22 and a 52 week high of $134.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. The company has a market capitalization of $103.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.13 and a beta of 0.50. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $124.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $122.70.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 9th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.01. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.66% and a net margin of 15.41%.The company had revenue of $7.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.57 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.66 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th were paid a $1.065 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 13th. This represents a $4.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 67.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy

In other Duke Energy news, CEO Louis E. Renjel sold 6,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.67, for a total value of $868,156.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 22,007 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,809,633.69. This represents a 23.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Regis T. Repko sold 962 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.86, for a total value of $123,001.32. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 3,896 shares in the company, valued at approximately $498,142.56. This represents a 19.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Duke Energy News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Regulatory settlement in South Carolina: Duke reached a proposed agreement to combine Duke Energy Carolinas and Duke Energy Progress operations in SC, which management says could produce customer savings and operational efficiencies if approved by state regulators — a potential long-term earnings/opex tailwind. Duke Energy Carolinas Deal Tests Regulatory Support For Efficiency And Growth
• Neutral Sentiment: $1.0B convertible senior notes: Duke disclosed a private placement of convertible senior notes due 2029 to raise roughly $1 billion. This boosts liquidity and funds operations/capex but carries conversion/dilution risk and will be watched for pricing/terms that affect EPS dilution. Duke Energy (DUK) to Raise $1B Through Convertible Senior Notes
• Neutral Sentiment: Proactive customer advisories: Duke issued multiple notices urging customers in the Carolinas to prepare for damaging winds and possible tornadic activity, signaling active risk management but also raising the chance of higher restoration costs. This is a readiness/communications item investors should monitor for subsequent outage impact. Duke Energy urges customers to prepare for damaging high winds and possible tornadic activities across the Carolinas
• Negative Sentiment: Storm-related outages and extra crews called in: Local reports show thousands without power in Wake County and expanded outage/restoration efforts (e.g., Bartholomew County, Charlotte). These events can pressure near-term cash opex, restoration costs and outage metrics; investors may trim exposure until damage/costs are clearer. Thousands without power across Wake County Monday night, Duke Energy reports

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group increased their target price on Duke Energy from $136.00 to $140.00 in a report on Monday, March 9th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $135.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $141.00 price objective on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $143.00 to $140.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $137.80.

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.