Dickmeyer Boyce Financial Management Inc. Invests $1.37 Million in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Dickmeyer Boyce Financial Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 10,458 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,369,000.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings 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 raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 56.9% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,662,460 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $312,067,000 after acquiring an additional 965,808 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Duke Energy by 13.1% in 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 in the last quarter. Milford Funds Ltd. purchased a new stake in Duke Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $97,905,000. Finally, Cohen & Steers Inc. boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 83.3% during the 4th 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. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Duke Energy

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

• Positive Sentiment: Duke Energy said data center growth should create billions of dollars in long-term customer savings and support responsible system expansion, reinforcing a constructive demand outlook for the utility. Duke Energy: Data center growth will deliver billions of dollars of customer savings
• Positive Sentiment: Duke Energy received its first advanced gas turbine, which should help it generate electricity more efficiently and support reliability and future capacity needs. Duke Energy receives first advanced gas turbine to generate electricity more efficiently
• Neutral Sentiment: Florida officials are moving toward extending Duke Energy’s service territory for decades, which may improve long-term visibility but does not appear to be an immediate earnings catalyst. As electric bills rise, Florida officials move toward 30 more years with Duke Energy
• Neutral Sentiment: A local outage in east Durham affected more than 2,000 customers during heavy rain, highlighting operational disruptions but likely having limited financial impact. More than 2,000 without power in east Durham amid heavy rain: Duke Energy
• Negative Sentiment: North Carolina’s attorney general said Duke Energy’s reduced rate increase is still too high, keeping regulatory pressure on the company’s pricing plans. NC attorney general says Duke Energy’s lowered rate increase is still too high
• Negative Sentiment: Reports of a stakeholder agreement cutting the residential rate increase to 9.5% suggest Duke may get less pricing relief than it initially sought. Duke Energy-stakeholder agreement pares down residential rate increase to 9.5% for 2 years

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Louis E. Renjel sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.15, for a total value of $438,025.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Harry K. Sideris sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 96,102 shares in the company, valued at $11,952,205.74. This trade represents a 17.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on DUK shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $136.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Duke Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 28th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Duke Energy from $143.00 to $138.00 in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $139.00 to $135.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $138.62.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $129.29 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $100.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.80, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.38. 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 stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $125.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $125.75. Duke Energy Corporation has a 52 week low of $113.89 and a 52 week high of $134.49.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.06. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.73% and a net margin of 15.49%.The business had revenue of $9.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.76 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be issued a $1.085 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $4.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. This is an increase from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.06. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is presently 65.24%.

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.