Marshall Investment Management LLC Takes Position in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 21,703 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,686,000. Duke Energy accounts for about 1.4% of Marshall Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in Duke Energy by 11.6% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,754 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $728,000 after buying an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in Duke Energy by 19.6% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 23,162 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,825,000 after acquiring an additional 3,797 shares during the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 1.0% in the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 31,238 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,686,000 after acquiring an additional 315 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 91.9% during the 2nd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 5,428 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $641,000 after purchasing an additional 2,600 shares during the period. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 63.2% during the 2nd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 55,384 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,535,000 after purchasing an additional 21,438 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on DUK shares. Mizuho set a $130.00 target price on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $141.00 price target on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on Duke Energy from $143.00 to $140.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $141.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $137.80.

Trending Headlines about Duke Energy

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

• Positive Sentiment: Regulatory settlement in South Carolina: Duke reached a proposed agreement to combine Duke Energy Carolinas and Duke Energy Progress operations in SC, which management says could produce customer savings and operational efficiencies if approved by state regulators — a potential long-term earnings/opex tailwind. Duke Energy Carolinas Deal Tests Regulatory Support For Efficiency And Growth
• Neutral Sentiment: $1.0B convertible senior notes: Duke disclosed a private placement of convertible senior notes due 2029 to raise roughly $1 billion. This boosts liquidity and funds operations/capex but carries conversion/dilution risk and will be watched for pricing/terms that affect EPS dilution. Duke Energy (DUK) to Raise $1B Through Convertible Senior Notes
• Neutral Sentiment: Proactive customer advisories: Duke issued multiple notices urging customers in the Carolinas to prepare for damaging winds and possible tornadic activity, signaling active risk management but also raising the chance of higher restoration costs. This is a readiness/communications item investors should monitor for subsequent outage impact. Duke Energy urges customers to prepare for damaging high winds and possible tornadic activities across the Carolinas
• Negative Sentiment: Storm-related outages and extra crews called in: Local reports show thousands without power in Wake County and expanded outage/restoration efforts (e.g., Bartholomew County, Charlotte). These events can pressure near-term cash opex, restoration costs and outage metrics; investors may trim exposure until damage/costs are clearer. Thousands without power across Wake County Monday night, Duke Energy reports

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Louis E. Renjel sold 6,800 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.67, for a total transaction of $868,156.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 22,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,809,633.69. This trade represents a 23.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Regis T. Repko sold 962 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.86, for a total value of $123,001.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 3,896 shares in the company, valued at approximately $498,142.56. This represents a 19.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DUK opened at $133.54 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $103.85 billion, a PE ratio of 21.13 and a beta of 0.50. Duke Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $111.22 and a 1 year high of $134.27. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $124.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $122.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.33.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.01. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.41% and a return on equity of 9.66%. The company had revenue of $7.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.66 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th were given a dividend of $1.065 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 13th. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.41%.

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.