Cornerstone Management Inc. Buys Shares of 2,337 Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Cornerstone Management Inc. purchased a new position in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 2,337 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $276,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of DUK. Avion Wealth increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 32.1% in the second quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 774 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $91,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Cadinha & Co. LLC grew its position in Duke Energy by 3,411.1% in the 2nd quarter. Cadinha & Co. LLC now owns 135,635 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $16,005,000 after acquiring an additional 131,772 shares during the last quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 12.7% in the second quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 99,587 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $11,751,000 after purchasing an additional 11,205 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 6.4% in the second quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 27,700 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,269,000 after purchasing an additional 1,656 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Blueprint LLC lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 9.1% during the second quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 23,923 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,823,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on DUK. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on Duke Energy in a report on Monday, October 6th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $143.00 target price for the company. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Duke Energy in a report on Thursday, October 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $143.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 price objective on Duke Energy in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Scotiabank set a $137.00 price objective on Duke Energy and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $138.36.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Bonnie B. Titone sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Thomas Preston Jr. Gillespie sold 6,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.26, for a total transaction of $832,542.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $127.25 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $98.95 billion, a PE ratio of 20.69, a P/E/G ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.44. Duke Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $105.20 and a twelve month high of $130.03. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $123.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $120.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $7.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.07 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.51% and a return on equity of 9.85%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.18 EPS. Duke Energy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.170-6.420 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.065 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 14th. This represents a $4.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is presently 69.27%.

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.