The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Has $113.98 Million Position in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company cut its holdings in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 87.9% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 870,441 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 6,335,118 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $113,976,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of DUK. Basso Capital Management L.P. bought a new position in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Dorato Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 1,111.1% during the fourth quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. now owns 218 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Triumph Capital Management raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 94 shares during the period. Finally, Cornerstone Financial Management LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.4%

Duke Energy stock opened at $129.36 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $100.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.38. Duke Energy Corporation has a 1-year low of $113.89 and a 1-year high of $134.49. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $125.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $126.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.06. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.49% and a return on equity of 9.73%. The firm had revenue of $9.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.76 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.085 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This is a boost from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.06. This represents a $4.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.24%.

More Duke Energy News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts expect Duke Energy’s upcoming earnings to grow and identify factors that could support an earnings beat. A favorable report could reinforce investor confidence in the company’s regulated growth outlook. Duke Energy Earnings Expected to Grow
• Positive Sentiment: Duke says expanding data-center demand should create long-term customer savings, suggesting a potential source of load growth and infrastructure investment. The company also promised not to raise rates to cover data-center costs, which may reduce near-term political and customer backlash. Duke Energy Says Data Center Growth Will Deliver Long-Term Customer Savings Duke Energy Promises No Rate Hikes
• Neutral Sentiment: Comparable utility results were encouraging: DTE Energy beat second-quarter estimates despite a year-over-year earnings decline, while CenterPoint Energy reported an adjusted earnings beat and 10.7% revenue growth. The reports provide sector context but do not directly change Duke’s earnings outlook. DTE Energy Q2 Earnings CenterPoint Energy Q2 Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: The Duke Energy Foundation announced another $1 million for North Carolina nonprofits, taking total customer-assistance and community support above $65 million since 2016. The initiative may strengthen community relations but has limited direct earnings impact. Duke Energy North Carolina Customer Assistance
• Negative Sentiment: North Carolina officials and an attorney general are pressing Duke to protect ratepayers from data-center-related costs. Although Duke reduced its proposed rate increase and says data centers will not drive customer rate hikes, continued political and regulatory opposition could delay approvals or constrain returns. Attorney General Calls for Data Center Protections Duke Energy Rate Increase Opposition
• Negative Sentiment: Storm-related outages left thousands of Duke customers without power, creating potential near-term restoration costs and reputational pressure. Duke Energy Power Outages

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Louis E. Renjel sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.15, for a total transaction of $438,025.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 21,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,680,087.25. This represents a 14.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Harry K. Sideris sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.37, for a total value of $2,487,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 96,102 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,952,205.74. This represents a 17.23% 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on DUK. KeyCorp raised shares of Duke Energy from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $139.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $136.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Barclays decreased their price objective on Duke Energy from $143.00 to $134.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $137.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $138.62.

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.