California Public Employees Retirement System Reduces Stake in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

California Public Employees Retirement System decreased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 8.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,884,247 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 184,066 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $246,723,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. World Investment Advisors increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 62.7% in the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 42,680 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,003,000 after acquiring an additional 16,450 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 22.7% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 132,530 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $15,534,000 after purchasing an additional 24,497 shares during the period. Moseley Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 423.6% during the 4th quarter. Moseley Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,749 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,143,000 after purchasing an additional 7,887 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its position in Duke Energy by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 359,829 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,176,000 after purchasing an additional 14,137 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV increased its stake in Duke Energy by 187.8% in the fourth quarter. Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV now owns 78,293 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,177,000 after purchasing an additional 51,088 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Harry K. Sideris sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.37, for a total value of $2,487,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 96,102 shares in the company, valued at $11,952,205.74. This represents a 17.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Louis E. Renjel sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.15, for a total value of $438,025.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 21,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of DUK stock opened at $125.04 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $124.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $125.42. Duke Energy Corporation has a 1-year low of $113.89 and a 1-year high of $134.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $97.48 billion, a PE ratio of 19.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.38. 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 released its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $0.06. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.73% and a net margin of 15.49%.The company had revenue of $9.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.76 earnings per share. Duke Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a dividend of $1.085 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This is an increase from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.06. This represents a $4.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.24%.

Trending Headlines about Duke Energy

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

• Positive Sentiment: Truist raised its price target on Duke Energy to $138 and reiterated a Buy rating, signaling confidence in the utility’s earnings outlook and suggesting meaningful upside from current levels. Benzinga report on Truist rating update
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan also lifted its price target to $141, even while keeping a Neutral rating, which still reflects expectations for solid longer-term value creation. Benzinga report on JPMorgan target increase
• Positive Sentiment: Recent commentary highlighted Duke Energy as one of the utilities best positioned for long-term growth thanks to its strong customer base and large capital expenditure program, with analysts pointing to contracted load and new demand from data centers as supportive of future earnings. Seeking Alpha article
• Neutral Sentiment: Duke Energy is expected to report second-quarter results next month, and analysts are looking for a modest earnings increase, keeping attention on whether the company can deliver on its growth plans. Barchart article
• Neutral Sentiment: Local coverage suggests Clearwater may renew its long-term electricity contract with Duke Energy, which would help preserve customer relationships and support revenue stability. Yahoo Finance article
• Negative Sentiment: North Carolina’s attorney general is challenging proposed Duke Energy Progress rate increases, adding another regulatory hurdle that could limit future pricing power and earnings growth. MSN article
• Negative Sentiment: Additional reports say AG Jeff Jackson is seeking to block nearly $1 billion in Duke Energy rate hikes over the next two years, reinforcing investor concerns about regulatory pushback on returns. Yahoo News article

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on DUK. Evercore increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $139.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Duke Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 28th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Duke Energy from $139.00 to $138.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Duke Energy from $139.00 to $135.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Capitol Sec Mgt downgraded Duke Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $138.73.

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.