Resolution Capital Ltd Trims Stock Position in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Resolution Capital Ltd cut its stake in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 62.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,598 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 22,370 shares during the quarter. Resolution Capital Ltd’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,781,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 5.3% during the 1st quarter. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,775 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $232,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Rithm Capital Corp. raised its stake in Duke Energy by 53.6% in the first quarter. Rithm Capital Corp. now owns 8,600 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,126,000 after buying an additional 3,000 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 20.0% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 51,520 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,746,000 after buying an additional 8,583 shares during the period. KCM Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Duke Energy by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,982 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,307,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. now owns 19,453 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,547,000 after acquiring an additional 638 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on DUK shares. Capitol Sec Mgt lowered Duke Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley set a $138.00 price target on Duke Energy in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. UBS Group reduced their price target on Duke Energy from $137.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Evercore increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $139.00 to $140.00 in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $136.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $138.62.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DUK opened at $129.36 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $125.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $126.02. Duke Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $113.89 and a fifty-two week high of $134.49. The company has a market capitalization of $100.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.38. 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 (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.93 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 analysts’ expectations of $8.44 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.73% and a net margin of 15.49%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.76 EPS. Analysts expect that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

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

Trending Headlines about Duke Energy

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Harry K. Sideris sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 96,102 shares in the company, valued at $11,952,205.74. The trade was a 17.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Louis E. Renjel sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.15, for a total transaction of $438,025.00. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.