Quantinno Capital Management LP Buys 234,139 Shares of Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 65.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 592,879 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 234,139 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP owned approximately 0.08% of Duke Energy worth $77,632,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 11.6% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,754 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $728,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in Duke Energy by 19.6% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 23,162 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,825,000 after purchasing an additional 3,797 shares during the period. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. lifted its position 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 worth $3,686,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares during the period. AXA S.A. boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 523.4% during the second quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 42,233 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,983,000 after buying an additional 35,458 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nebula Research & Development LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at $954,000. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Louis E. Renjel sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.15, for a total transaction of $438,025.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 21,415 shares in the company, valued at $2,680,087.25. This represents a 14.05% 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 Harry K. Sideris sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.37, for a total value of $2,487,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 96,102 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,952,205.74. This represents a 17.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on DUK. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Monday, May 4th. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Duke Energy from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $139.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $137.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Evercore raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $139.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $136.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $138.62.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:DUK opened at $129.36 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $125.51 and its 200-day moving average is $126.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.66. Duke Energy Corporation has a 52 week low of $113.89 and a 52 week high of $134.49. The company has a market capitalization of $100.85 billion, a PE ratio of 19.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.38.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its 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. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.49% and a return on equity of 9.73%. The business had revenue of $9.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.76 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

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

More Duke Energy News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts expect Duke Energy’s upcoming earnings to grow and identify factors that could support an earnings beat. A favorable report could reinforce investor confidence in the company’s regulated growth outlook. Duke Energy Earnings Expected to Grow
• Positive Sentiment: Duke says expanding data-center demand should create long-term customer savings, suggesting a potential source of load growth and infrastructure investment. The company also promised not to raise rates to cover data-center costs, which may reduce near-term political and customer backlash. Duke Energy Says Data Center Growth Will Deliver Long-Term Customer Savings Duke Energy Promises No Rate Hikes
• Neutral Sentiment: Comparable utility results were encouraging: DTE Energy beat second-quarter estimates despite a year-over-year earnings decline, while CenterPoint Energy reported an adjusted earnings beat and 10.7% revenue growth. The reports provide sector context but do not directly change Duke’s earnings outlook. DTE Energy Q2 Earnings CenterPoint Energy Q2 Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: The Duke Energy Foundation announced another $1 million for North Carolina nonprofits, taking total customer-assistance and community support above $65 million since 2016. The initiative may strengthen community relations but has limited direct earnings impact. Duke Energy North Carolina Customer Assistance
• Negative Sentiment: North Carolina officials and an attorney general are pressing Duke to protect ratepayers from data-center-related costs. Although Duke reduced its proposed rate increase and says data centers will not drive customer rate hikes, continued political and regulatory opposition could delay approvals or constrain returns. Attorney General Calls for Data Center Protections Duke Energy Rate Increase Opposition
• Negative Sentiment: Storm-related outages left thousands of Duke customers without power, creating potential near-term restoration costs and reputational pressure. Duke Energy Power Outages

Duke Energy Company Profile

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.