QRG Capital Management Inc. Boosts Holdings in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 7.0% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 215,293 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,036 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $25,405,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 74,562,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,094,327,000 after acquiring an additional 1,676,061 shares in the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 17,880.0% during the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 10,249,508 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,250,133,000 after acquiring an additional 10,192,503 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 8,921,517 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,088,158,000 after acquiring an additional 418,014 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,656,244 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,055,087,000 after acquiring an additional 93,699 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 8,153,615 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $994,496,000 after acquiring an additional 152,542 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DUK has been the topic of several recent research reports. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on Duke Energy in a report on Friday, June 13th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 target price on Duke Energy in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $127.00 target price (up previously from $124.00) on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $127.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $127.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $132.25.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $123.58 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $122.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $119.61. The company has a market capitalization of $96.10 billion, a PE ratio of 20.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. Duke Energy Corporation has a 52 week low of $105.20 and a 52 week high of $127.85.

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

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were given a $1.065 dividend. This is a boost from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.27%.

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.