Wealthfront Advisers LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Wealthfront Advisers LLC increased its stake in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 5.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 162,446 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,604 shares during the quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $21,271,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 2.6% in 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 period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 1.2% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,931,127 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,046,818,000 after acquiring an additional 58,375 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,236,893 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $965,446,000 after acquiring an additional 954,907 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 31,703 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Duke Energy

In related news, CEO Harry K. Sideris sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The shares were 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 directly owned 96,102 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,952,205.74. This trade represents a 17.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Louis E. Renjel sold 3,500 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.15, for a total transaction of $438,025.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 21,415 shares in the company, valued at $2,680,087.25. This trade represents a 14.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on DUK. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $136.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Evercore raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $139.00 to $140.00 in a report on Monday, May 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $135.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $143.00 to $138.00 in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $137.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $138.67.

More Duke Energy News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Duke Energy boosted its quarterly dividend to $1.085 per share, a 1.9% increase from the prior payout, reinforcing its appeal as an income stock. PR Newswire dividend/program article
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan raised its price target on Duke Energy to $141 from $136, signaling continued confidence in the stock’s valuation and a modest upside from current levels. Benzinga price target article
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to point to solid growth prospects, with recent commentary highlighting Duke’s contracted load and longer-term growth plan as credible support for earnings. Seeking Alpha contracted load article
• Neutral Sentiment: Duke Energy Florida said its EnergyWise Home program can provide customer bill credits with minimal effort, which is supportive of customer relations but not a major earnings driver. Yahoo Finance EnergyWise Home article
• Neutral Sentiment: Clearwater is set to vote on a 30-year Duke Energy deal, which could help preserve the utility’s local footprint but is still pending. Clearwater vote article
• Negative Sentiment: North Carolina’s attorney general is challenging Duke Energy Progress rate hikes, adding regulatory pressure and uncertainty around future revenue growth. Attorney general challenge article
• Negative Sentiment: Another report said the attorney general is seeking to block nearly $1 billion in Duke Energy rate hikes over the next two years, reinforcing the regulatory overhang. Yahoo News rate hikes article
• Negative Sentiment: A Greensboro outage affecting thousands of customers highlights ongoing operational reliability issues, though the number of impacted customers has since been cut roughly in half. Greensboro outage article

Duke Energy Price Performance

NYSE:DUK opened at $125.99 on Friday. Duke Energy Corporation has a one year low of $113.89 and a one year high of $134.49. The stock has a market cap of $98.22 billion, a PE ratio of 19.29 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.66. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $124.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $125.42.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $9.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.44 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.73% and a net margin of 15.49%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.76 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th will be issued a $1.085 dividend. This is an increase from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.06. This represents a $4.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is currently 65.24%.

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.