Legal & General Group Plc Lowers Stake in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Legal & General Group Plc reduced its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,182,010 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 153,647 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $724,593,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 11.6% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,754 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $728,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. raised its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. AXA S.A. raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 523.4% during the second quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 42,233 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,983,000 after purchasing an additional 35,458 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nebula Research & Development LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy during the second quarter worth about $954,000. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE DUK opened at $125.78 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45. Duke Energy Corporation has a 52 week low of $113.39 and a 52 week high of $134.49. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $128.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $124.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $98.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.26 and a beta of 0.41.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.76 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a $1.065 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.24%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DUK has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Duke Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 28th. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and set a $141.00 price target on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Friday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $135.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $127.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Capitol Sec Mgt cut shares of Duke Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $139.07.

Key Stories Impacting Duke Energy

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

• Positive Sentiment: Duke Energy is being viewed as a potential beneficiary of surging power demand from data centers, which could support future generation growth and regulated utility investment opportunities. Why Duke Energy (DUK) Is Becoming a Data Center Power Demand Play
• Positive Sentiment: Goldman Sachs reiterated its bullish view by keeping Duke Energy on its Conviction List and assigning a $132 target, signaling confidence in regulatory progress and the company’s expansion plans. Why Duke Energy (DUK) Is Becoming a Data Center Power Demand Play
• Positive Sentiment: Utility-sector demand tailwinds linked to AI infrastructure are also supporting sentiment toward Duke Energy and other dividend-paying utilities. These 3 Utility Stocks Have Been Paying Dividends for Decades and AI Data Centers Just Made Them More Valuable
• Neutral Sentiment: North Carolina lawmakers moved to require approval for replacement nuclear capacity before Duke can retire coal plants, which could slow the company’s transition plans but may also protect near-term generation reliability and earnings visibility. North Carolina lawmakers just moved to block Duke Energy from closing coal plants until new nuclear is approved to replace every lost megawatt
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley cut its price target on Duke Energy to $132 from $141 while maintaining an Equalweight rating, a modestly softer analyst signal but still above the recent share price. Morgan Stanley adjusts price target on Duke Energy to 132 from 141
• Neutral Sentiment: Other items, including local outage and customer-service updates, appear operational in nature and are unlikely to materially affect the stock. Power restored for Duke Energy customers in Sullivan County

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Duke Energy news, CEO Louis E. Renjel sold 3,500 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The shares were 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 owned 21,415 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,680,087.25. The trade was a 14.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Regis T. Repko sold 962 shares of Duke Energy 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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 3,896 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $498,142.56. The trade was a 19.80% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 24,462 shares of company stock worth $3,048,426. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Company 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.