Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas Invests $578,000 in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 4,934 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $578,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 139.3% during the 4th quarter. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc now owns 9,688 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,136,000 after buying an additional 5,640 shares in the last quarter. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas boosted its position in Duke Energy by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas now owns 19,861 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,328,000 after buying an additional 594 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Duke Energy by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,292,633 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,266,675,000 after buying an additional 230,375 shares during the period. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in Duke Energy by 19.3% in the 4th quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 8,982 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,053,000 after buying an additional 1,450 shares during the period. Finally, TrustBank purchased a new stake in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $234,000. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Duke Energy

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

• Positive Sentiment: South Carolina regulators approved Duke Energy’s new PowerShare Storage program, which lets nonresidential customers earn bill credits by using storage assets to help manage peak demand. The move supports grid reliability while creating a customer-friendly revenue opportunity. New Duke Energy program helps South Carolina nonresidential customers lower costs while supporting a growing grid
• Positive Sentiment: The Duke Energy Foundation awarded $130,000 to Florida organizations for storm preparedness and community resiliency ahead of hurricane season, reinforcing the company’s focus on protecting critical infrastructure and reducing outage risk. Ahead of hurricane season, Duke Energy Foundation awards $130,000 to 10 organizations advancing storm preparedness and community resiliency
• Positive Sentiment: Another report said Duke Energy grants in Florida are tied to long-term grid resilience and storm readiness, which may help reduce operational disruptions and support its regulated utility profile. Duke Energy Grants Tie Florida Storm Readiness To Long Term Grid Risks
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley lowered its price target on Duke Energy to $132 from $141 but kept an Equal Weight rating, suggesting a more cautious valuation view rather than a major change in fundamentals. Morgan Stanley Revises Duke Energy (DUK) Valuation Following Utility Sector Update
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage noting that utilities have lagged Duke Energy this year appears more descriptive than catalytic, and is unlikely to be a major near-term driver by itself. Are Utilities Stocks Lagging Duke Energy (DUK) This Year?
• Negative Sentiment: The stock may face some pressure from commentary highlighting that Duke Energy has already rallied relative to peers, while broader utility-sector performance remains mixed. Are Utilities Stocks Lagging Duke Energy (DUK) This Year?
• Positive Sentiment: A report that Duke Energy rate hikes were affirmed by the Supreme Court is supportive for earnings visibility and regulated returns, which is generally favorable for utility investors. Duke Energy rate hikes affirmed by Supreme Court

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Louis E. Renjel sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.15, for a total transaction of $438,025.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 21,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,680,087.25. This represents a 14.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 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 value of $2,487,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 96,102 shares in the company, valued at $11,952,205.74. This represents a 17.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DUK has been the subject of several research reports. Evercore boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $139.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Barclays lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $127.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Wall Street Zen raised Duke Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $141.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $139.07.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.3%

DUK opened at $125.30 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $97.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.19 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45. Duke Energy Corporation has a 12 month low of $113.39 and a 12 month high of $134.49. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $127.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $124.05.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $9.18 billion during 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%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.76 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $1.065 per share. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.