Canal Capital Management LLC Increases Stake in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Canal Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 2,688.4% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 56,520 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 54,493 shares during the quarter. Canal Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $7,401,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 78,258,757 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,172,709,000 after buying an additional 1,957,592 shares during the last quarter. Amundi lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 56.9% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,662,460 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $312,067,000 after acquiring an additional 965,808 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,236,893 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $965,446,000 after acquiring an additional 954,907 shares during the period. Milford Funds Ltd. bought a new position in Duke Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $97,905,000. Finally, Cohen & Steers Inc. lifted its position in Duke Energy by 83.3% in the fourth quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 1,711,445 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $200,598,000 after purchasing an additional 777,878 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DUK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $137.00 to $135.00 in a report on Monday, May 11th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $142.00 to $137.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $143.00 to $138.00 in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Duke Energy from $135.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $138.33.

Insider Transactions at Duke Energy

In other news, CEO Louis E. Renjel sold 3,500 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 21,415 shares in the company, valued at $2,680,087.25. This represents a 14.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Harry K. Sideris sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The stock was 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. The trade was a 17.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Duke Energy stock opened at $129.44 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $125.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $124.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45. The company has a market cap of $100.91 billion, a PE ratio of 19.82 and a beta of 0.38. Duke Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $113.89 and a twelve month high of $134.49.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $9.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.44 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.73% and a net margin of 15.49%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.76 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were given a dividend of $1.065 per share. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.24%.

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.