Great Lakes Advisors LLC Takes Position in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Great Lakes Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 794,640 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $100,586,000. Great Lakes Advisors LLC owned about 0.10% of Duke Energy as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Basso Capital Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 1,111.1% in the fourth quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. now owns 218 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Triumph Capital Management increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 68.6% during the fourth quarter. Triumph Capital Management now owns 231 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the period. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Evergreen Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

More Duke Energy News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Duke executives are highlighting significant capital-spending upside from accelerating data-center demand. New generation and grid investments could expand Duke’s rate base and support long-term earnings growth. Utility Business Notes: Duke Executives Quantify Data Center Capex Upside
• Positive Sentiment: Duke’s South Carolina resource plan is designed to meet rising electricity demand from population growth, new employers and industrial investment while balancing reliability and customer costs. The plan could create future infrastructure and rate-base growth. Duke Energy’s resource plan builds on work already underway
• Positive Sentiment: Duke is appealing a South Carolina decision that rejected a requested rate increase under a new regulatory program. A successful appeal could improve revenue recovery and earnings, although the outcome remains uncertain. Duke Energy appeals to SC Supreme Court
• Neutral Sentiment: North Carolina regulators may introduce special tariffs for data centers next year. Charging large users more could protect other customers and improve cost recovery, but higher power costs could slow data-center expansion or reduce demand growth. Data centers may face new tariffs next year
• Neutral Sentiment: Duke restored power to more than 340,000 customers after a rare derecho in Greater Cincinnati, with 85% of outages addressed within 48 hours. The response demonstrates operational execution, though severe-weather restoration can increase costs. Duke Energy thanks Greater Cincinnati customers
• Neutral Sentiment: Duke’s foundation is investing $175,000 in South Carolina downtown and community revitalization projects. The program supports local relations but is not financially material to the company. Duke Energy Foundation launches Main Street Revitalization grant program
• Negative Sentiment: More than 10,000 customers remained without power after severe thunderstorms in western North Carolina and the Upstate, following an earlier report of more than 12,000 outages. Extended disruptions may lead to restoration expenses and customer dissatisfaction. Duke Energy outage report
• Negative Sentiment: High electricity bills among Triangle-area residents are generating increased scrutiny. Affordability concerns could intensify political and regulatory opposition to future rate increases and limit Duke’s ability to pass through infrastructure costs. Why are Duke Energy bills so high for Triangle residents?

Duke Energy Price Performance

Duke Energy stock opened at $123.98 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $96.67 billion, a PE ratio of 18.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $125.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $126.64. Duke Energy Corporation has a one year low of $113.89 and a one year high of $134.49.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.13. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.78% and a net margin of 15.78%.The company had revenue of $7.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.66 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.25 EPS. Duke Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.72 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.085 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This is a positive change from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.06. This represents a $4.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Duke Energy from $134.00 to $132.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Duke Energy from $137.00 to $135.00 in a report on Monday, May 11th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $140.00 to $132.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Mizuho set a $136.00 price objective on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $138.25.

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.