Royal Fund Management LLC Buys 5,380 Shares of Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Royal Fund Management LLC grew its stake in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 16.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 38,684 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,380 shares during the period. Royal Fund Management LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $5,070,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 11.6% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,754 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $728,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake 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 buying an additional 3,797 shares during the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 1.0% in the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 31,238 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,686,000 after buying an additional 315 shares during the period. AXA S.A. boosted its position in Duke Energy by 523.4% during the second quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 42,233 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,983,000 after acquiring an additional 35,458 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nebula Research & Development LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy during the second quarter valued at $954,000. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $136.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Truist Financial raised their target price on Duke Energy from $137.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Mizuho lowered their target price on Duke Energy from $139.00 to $135.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 18th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Duke Energy from $137.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Evercore raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $139.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $138.62.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Louis E. Renjel sold 3,500 shares of Duke Energy 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 21,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,680,087.25. This trade represents a 14.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Harry K. Sideris sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.37, for a total transaction of $2,487,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 96,102 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,952,205.74. This trade represents a 17.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $129.20 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $100.73 billion, a PE ratio of 19.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.38. Duke Energy Corporation has a 52 week low of $113.89 and a 52 week high of $134.49. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $125.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $126.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.66.

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