Hardin Capital Partners LLC Sells 141 Shares of Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Hardin Capital Partners LLC lowered its position in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,100 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 141 shares during the quarter. Duke Energy comprises approximately 1.5% of Hardin Capital Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Hardin Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $2,508,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in DUK. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 11.6% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,754 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $728,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $51,435,000. Vident Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 15,217 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,640,000 after acquiring an additional 1,247 shares in the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 455,211 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $49,044,000 after acquiring an additional 27,127 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zimmer Partners LP boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 40.6% in the fourth quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 2,027,600 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $218,454,000 after acquiring an additional 585,600 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Thomas Preston Jr. Gillespie sold 6,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.26, for a total value of $832,542.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 46,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,768,397.72. This trade represents a 12.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Bonnie B. Titone sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.38, for a total transaction of $248,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 19,608 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,438,843.04. The trade was a 9.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of DUK stock opened at $120.31 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $93.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $121.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $119.23. Duke Energy Corporation has a one year low of $105.20 and a one year high of $127.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.42.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.29 by ($0.04). Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.51% and a return on equity of 9.85%. The company had revenue of $7.51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.18 earnings per share. Duke Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Duke Energy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.170-6.420 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a $1.065 dividend. This represents a $4.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. This is an increase from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 69.27%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DUK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Friday, June 13th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $131.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $127.00 target price (up from $124.00) on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Friday, July 11th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five 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 an average target price of $130.62.

Duke Energy Company Profile

Duke Energy Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an energy company in the United States. It operates through two segments: Electric Utilities and Infrastructure (EU&I), and Gas Utilities and Infrastructure (GU&I). The EU&I segment generates, transmits, distributes, and sells electricity in the Carolinas, Florida, and the Midwest.