Royal Fund Management LLC Increases Holdings in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Royal Fund Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 16.2% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. 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 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Basso Capital Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Dorato Capital Management bought a new stake in Duke Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 1,111.1% in the 4th quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. now owns 218 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Triumph Capital Management boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 68.6% in the 4th quarter. Triumph Capital Management now owns 231 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the period. Finally, Cornerstone Financial Management LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Louis E. Renjel sold 3,500 shares of Duke Energy 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 21,415 shares in the company, valued at $2,680,087.25. The trade was a 14.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Harry K. Sideris sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 owned 96,102 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,952,205.74. This trade represents a 17.23% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE DUK opened at $129.20 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $100.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.79, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.38. Duke Energy Corporation has a one year low of $113.89 and a one year high of $134.49. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $125.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $126.10. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.44 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.76 EPS. Duke Energy’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 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.085 per share. This is a positive change from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.06. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $4.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.24%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Duke Energy from $137.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Evercore raised their price target on Duke Energy from $139.00 to $140.00 in a report on Monday, May 11th. Barclays dropped their price target on Duke Energy from $143.00 to $134.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Morgan Stanley set a $138.00 price objective on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $135.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $138.62.

Duke Energy Company 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.