Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) EVP Sells 2,900 Shares of Company Stock

Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) EVP Bonnie Titone sold 2,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.00, for a total transaction of $371,200.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 26,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,342,208. The trade was a 10.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Duke Energy stock traded down $1.98 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $126.40. The stock had a trading volume of 3,618,764 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,981,089. The company has a market cap of $98.56 billion, a PE ratio of 18.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. Duke Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $112.40 and a fifty-two week high of $134.49. The company has a 50-day moving average of $119.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $124.32.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.13. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.78% and a return on equity of 9.78%. The company had revenue of $7.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.66 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.25 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.0850 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 13th. This represents a $4.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. HSBC initiated coverage on Duke Energy in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $123.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Duke Energy from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Duke Energy from $135.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Finally, Mizuho set a $136.00 target price on Duke Energy in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $132.19.

Institutional Trading of Duke Energy

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 15.7% in the 2nd quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 70,388 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,910,000 after buying an additional 9,562 shares during the period. Sarasin & Partners LLP lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 15.3% during the second quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 1,283,213 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $162,429,000 after acquiring an additional 170,700 shares during the period. Nykredit A S acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the second quarter valued at $17,106,000. V. M. Manning & CO. Inc. bought a new position in Duke Energy in the second quarter valued at about $2,432,000. Finally, Cohen Klingenstein LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy in the second quarter worth about $2,051,000. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Duke Energy Company Profile

Duke Energy Corporation is an energy holding company that provides regulated electric and natural gas utility services in the United States. Its electric utilities generate, transmit, distribute and sell electricity to residential, commercial, industrial and other customers. The company’s generation portfolio includes nuclear, natural gas, coal, hydroelectric and renewable energy resources.

Duke Energy serves customers primarily in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky.