Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) SVP Sells $123,001.32 in Stock

Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) SVP Regis Repko sold 962 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.86, for a total transaction of $123,001.32. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 3,896 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $498,142.56. This represents a 19.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Duke Energy Price Performance

DUK stock traded up $0.59 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $129.05. The stock had a trading volume of 3,853,769 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,420,735. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $120.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $121.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $100.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. Duke Energy Corporation has a 52 week low of $111.22 and a 52 week high of $130.03.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.01. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.41% and a return on equity of 9.66%. The business had revenue of $7.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.66 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be paid a dividend of $1.065 per share. This represents a $4.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 13th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.41%.

Institutional Trading of Duke Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Pflug Koory LLC raised its position in Duke Energy by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Pflug Koory LLC now owns 2,694 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $333,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. WealthShield Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. WealthShield Partners LLC now owns 25,453 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,003,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 1.7% in the third quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 5,048 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $625,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. EWA LLC raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 3.9% in the third quarter. EWA LLC now owns 2,203 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $273,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 4.6% during the third quarter. Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,854 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $229,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on DUK. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $125.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Scotiabank raised their target price on Duke Energy from $137.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Morgan Stanley set a $139.00 price target on Duke Energy in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Duke Energy from $135.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $135.75.

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.