PeakShares LLC Purchases Shares of 8,568 Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

PeakShares LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 8,568 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,004,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in DUK. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 78,258,757 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,172,709,000 after purchasing an additional 1,957,592 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,292,633 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,266,675,000 after buying an additional 230,375 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Duke Energy by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,931,127 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,046,818,000 after buying an additional 58,375 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,236,893 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $965,446,000 after buying an additional 954,907 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 0.4% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,758,700 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $960,139,000 after buying an additional 31,703 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Duke Energy news, CEO Louis E. Renjel sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.15, for a total value of $438,025.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 21,415 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,680,087.25. This represents a 14.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Harry K. Sideris sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.37, for a total transaction of $2,487,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 96,102 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,952,205.74. The trade was a 17.23% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $123.84 on Friday. Duke Energy Corporation has a 12 month low of $113.89 and a 12 month high of $134.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45. The stock has a market cap of $96.55 billion, a PE ratio of 18.97 and a beta of 0.39. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $125.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $124.06.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.06. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.73% and a net margin of 15.49%.The firm had revenue of $9.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.76 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were given a $1.065 dividend. This represents a $4.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 65.24%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DUK has been the subject of several research reports. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Duke Energy from $142.00 to $137.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Evercore boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $139.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Monday, May 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Duke Energy from $139.00 to $136.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $143.00 to $134.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $138.07.

More Duke Energy News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Duke Energy is being highlighted as one of the large-cap dividend stocks that retirees are quietly buying, reinforcing its appeal as a steady income name for investors looking for yield and defensive cash flow. 3 Stocks Retirees Are Quietly Loading Up on in June
• Positive Sentiment: Another article also grouped Duke Energy with other utility stocks viewed as sources of passive income, which may support investor interest in the stock’s defensive dividend profile. 3 Utility Stocks For Years of Passive Income
• Positive Sentiment: Mizuho lowered its price target on Duke Energy only modestly to $135 from $139 while keeping an outperform rating, suggesting analysts still see upside from current levels. Mizuho PT Lowered to $135 at Mizuho
• Neutral Sentiment: Duke Energy Florida issued a customer energy-use reminder ahead of summer, which is routine utility communications and not likely to materially move the stock. Summer starts June 21: Duke Energy Florida highlights five key appliances to help customers manage energy use
• Neutral Sentiment: Several local outage reports and safety demonstrations are operational headlines that reflect day-to-day utility issues rather than a major change in Duke Energy’s earnings outlook. Duke Energy: Hundreds of customers without power in Greenville County
• Negative Sentiment: Coverage about a regulator sitting out Duke Energy carbon plan decisions and a separate story about a city examining whether to leave the utility add a bit of regulatory and political uncertainty. Pro-coal state regulator won’t participate in Duke Energy Carbon Plan decisions
• Negative Sentiment: Recent trading commentary noted that Duke Energy has been declining more than the broader market, indicating some near-term pressure on shares. Duke Energy (DUK) Declines More Than Market: Some Information for Investors

Duke Energy Company Profile

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.