Bessemer Group Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 1.5% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,200,569 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,355 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $157,202,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of DUK. Avalon Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the first quarter worth about $105,000. Gerald Baker Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the 1st quarter worth approximately $335,000. Frisch Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the 1st quarter worth approximately $255,000. Independent Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,212,000. Finally, Enterprise Financial Services Corp raised its position in Duke Energy by 6.5% during the 1st quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp now owns 2,568 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $336,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Harry K. Sideris sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.37, for a total transaction of $2,487,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 96,102 shares in the company, valued at $11,952,205.74. This trade represents a 17.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Louis E. Renjel sold 3,500 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.15, for a total value of $438,025.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 21,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,680,087.25. This represents a 14.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DUK has been the topic of several recent research reports. Evercore upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $139.00 to $140.00 in a report on Monday, May 11th. Capitol Sec Mgt cut shares of Duke Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $135.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $132.00 to $136.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price target on Duke Energy from $142.00 to $137.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $138.67.

Duke Energy Price Performance

NYSE:DUK opened at $125.99 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The firm has a market cap of $98.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.29 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $124.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $125.42. Duke Energy Corporation has a 1-year low of $113.89 and a 1-year high of $134.49.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $9.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.44 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.49% and a return on equity of 9.73%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.76 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.71 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.085 per share. This represents a $4.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This is an increase from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.06. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.24%.

Duke Energy News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Duke Energy boosted its quarterly dividend to $1.085 per share, a 1.9% increase from the prior payout, reinforcing its appeal as an income stock. PR Newswire dividend/program article
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan raised its price target on Duke Energy to $141 from $136, signaling continued confidence in the stock’s valuation and a modest upside from current levels. Benzinga price target article
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to point to solid growth prospects, with recent commentary highlighting Duke’s contracted load and longer-term growth plan as credible support for earnings. Seeking Alpha contracted load article
• Neutral Sentiment: Duke Energy Florida said its EnergyWise Home program can provide customer bill credits with minimal effort, which is supportive of customer relations but not a major earnings driver. Yahoo Finance EnergyWise Home article
• Neutral Sentiment: Clearwater is set to vote on a 30-year Duke Energy deal, which could help preserve the utility’s local footprint but is still pending. Clearwater vote article
• Negative Sentiment: North Carolina’s attorney general is challenging Duke Energy Progress rate hikes, adding regulatory pressure and uncertainty around future revenue growth. Attorney general challenge article
• Negative Sentiment: Another report said the attorney general is seeking to block nearly $1 billion in Duke Energy rate hikes over the next two years, reinforcing the regulatory overhang. Yahoo News rate hikes article
• Negative Sentiment: A Greensboro outage affecting thousands of customers highlights ongoing operational reliability issues, though the number of impacted customers has since been cut roughly in half. Greensboro outage article

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.