US Bancorp DE Reduces Holdings in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

US Bancorp DE cut its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 13.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 355,622 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 53,453 shares during the quarter. US Bancorp DE’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $44,009,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pflug Koory LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 79 shares during the period. WealthShield Partners LLC raised its position in Duke Energy by 0.3% in the second quarter. WealthShield Partners LLC now owns 25,453 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,003,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Cypress Wealth Services LLC lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 1.7% during the third quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 5,048 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $625,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. EWA LLC boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 3.9% during the third quarter. EWA LLC now owns 2,203 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $273,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. Finally, Blossom Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 3.5% in the third quarter. Blossom Wealth Management now owns 2,530 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $313,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

In related news, SVP Regis T. Repko sold 962 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.86, for a total transaction of $123,001.32. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 3,896 shares in the company, valued at $498,142.56. The trade was a 19.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Louis E. Renjel sold 6,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.67, for a total transaction of $868,156.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 22,007 shares in the company, valued at $2,809,633.69. This represents a 23.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DUK has been the topic of several research reports. Scotiabank increased their target price on Duke Energy from $137.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $135.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Monday, December 29th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $126.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $141.00 price target on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $135.75.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:DUK opened at $129.25 on Friday. Duke Energy Corporation has a 52 week low of $111.22 and a 52 week high of $130.03. The company’s 50 day moving average is $120.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $122.06. The company has a market cap of $100.51 billion, a PE ratio of 20.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 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 (NYSE:DUK) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.01. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.41% and a return on equity of 9.66%. The firm had revenue of $7.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.66 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

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

Duke Energy Profile

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.