Renaissance Technologies LLC Has $367,000 Holdings in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Renaissance Technologies LLC lessened its holdings in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 99.1% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,800 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 315,050 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $367,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 11.6% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,754 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $728,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 19.6% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 23,162 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,825,000 after purchasing an additional 3,797 shares during the period. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1.0% during the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 31,238 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,686,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares during the period. AXA S.A. increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 523.4% in the second quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 42,233 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,983,000 after purchasing an additional 35,458 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nebula Research & Development LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the second quarter valued at about $954,000. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on DUK. KeyCorp upgraded Duke Energy from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $139.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $134.00 to $132.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $140.00 to $132.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Mizuho set a $136.00 price objective on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $136.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Duke Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $138.25.

Duke Energy News Summary

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 Trading Up 0.3%

NYSE DUK opened at $123.98 on Wednesday. Duke Energy Corporation has a one year low of $113.89 and a one year high of $134.49. 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 firm has a market cap of $96.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.38. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $125.80 and its 200-day moving average is $126.64.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $7.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.66 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.25 EPS. Duke Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be issued a $1.085 dividend. This represents a $4.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. This is a boost from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.06. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.17%.

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.