GAMMA Investing LLC Acquires 4,553 Shares of Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 33.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 18,189 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,553 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $2,146,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. GQG Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 17,880.0% in the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 10,249,508 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,250,133,000 after purchasing an additional 10,192,503 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $702,351,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 88.1% in the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 4,861,309 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $592,934,000 after purchasing an additional 2,276,948 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 2.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 74,562,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,094,327,000 after purchasing an additional 1,676,061 shares during the period. Finally, Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its position in Duke Energy by 359.1% during the first quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 1,132,613 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $138,145,000 after acquiring an additional 885,900 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

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

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of DUK opened at $121.71 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.66. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $121.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $119.38. Duke Energy Corporation has a 52-week low of $105.20 and a 52-week high of $127.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $94.65 billion, a PE ratio of 19.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.39.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $7.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $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. Sell-side analysts predict that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were given a $1.065 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. This is a boost from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is presently 69.27%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on DUK shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $127.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $127.00 target price (up previously from $124.00) on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $130.62.

About Duke Energy

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.