Ameritas Advisory Services LLC Buys 9,989 Shares of Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Ameritas Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 174.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 15,727 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 9,989 shares during the quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,843,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DUK. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 1,957,592 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Duke Energy by 0.4% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,758,700 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $960,139,000 after purchasing an additional 31,703 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 4.1% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,281,986 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $901,146,000 after purchasing an additional 288,499 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in Duke Energy by 0.3% during the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,033,225 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $622,862,000 after buying an additional 12,758 shares during the period. Finally, Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec lifted its position in Duke Energy by 19.1% during the third quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec now owns 2,613,595 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $323,432,000 after buying an additional 419,992 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Regis T. Repko sold 962 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.86, for a total transaction of $123,001.32. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 3,896 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $498,142.56. This trade represents a 19.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Louis E. Renjel sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,680,087.25. The trade was a 14.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 24,462 shares of company stock worth $3,048,426 over the last 90 days. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Duke Energy

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

• Positive Sentiment: Duke Energy’s recent first-quarter results came in ahead of expectations, with earnings and revenue both topping estimates, while management reaffirmed its full-year guidance and highlighted a large five-year capital plan, additional data-center power agreements, and DOE loan applications that could support long-term growth and customer savings. How Investors Are Reacting To Duke Energy (DUK) Earnings Beat, Massive Capex Plan And DOE Loan Bid
• Positive Sentiment: Hot weather across the Carolinas could boost electricity demand as air conditioners run longer, which may help near-term utility usage and revenue. 90-degree heat on the way: Take these steps now to keep your home comfortable and manage energy use
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage of Duke Energy’s nuclear fleet was constructive, noting record capacity factor performance, which supports the company’s operating reliability and long-term clean-energy strategy. Duke Energy’s Nuclear Playbook: Three Horizons, One Strategy
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts made only modest target changes, including JPMorgan, UBS, and Jefferies lowering price targets slightly while still implying upside, so the revisions do not appear to signal a major deterioration in the outlook. JPMorgan adjusts price target on Duke Energy
• Negative Sentiment: Recent insider selling by CEO Harry Sideris and CEO Louis E. Renjel may be pressuring sentiment, even though these transactions do not necessarily change Duke Energy’s operating fundamentals. SEC Form 4 filing for CEO share sale

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DUK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $142.00 to $141.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $137.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $139.00 to $136.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $141.00 target price on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $135.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.00.

Duke Energy Price Performance

DUK opened at $123.84 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $96.55 billion, a PE ratio of 18.97 and a beta of 0.41. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $129.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $124.10. Duke Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $111.22 and a 1 year high of $134.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.44.

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. The company had revenue of $9.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.44 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.49% and a return on equity of 9.73%. 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 posted $1.76 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.065 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $4.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. 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.