O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. Buys 1,598 Shares of Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. boosted its stake in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 19.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,670 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,598 shares during the period. O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,141,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Accel Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 15.9% in the second quarter. Accel Wealth Management now owns 3,242 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $383,000 after acquiring an additional 445 shares during the last quarter. Oak Hill Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 33.6% in the second quarter. Oak Hill Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,603 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $884,000 after acquiring an additional 1,911 shares during the last quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 430.9% during the 2nd quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. now owns 11,180 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,319,000 after buying an additional 9,074 shares in the last quarter. Apexium Financial LP boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Apexium Financial LP now owns 5,368 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $633,000 after buying an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 115.0% during the 2nd quarter. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 42,343 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,996,000 after buying an additional 22,652 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 price target on Duke Energy in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Duke Energy from $131.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Duke Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $141.00 to $134.00 in a report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $127.00 price target (up from $124.00) on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Friday, July 11th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $132.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of DUK opened at $123.58 on Friday. Duke Energy Corporation has a 12-month low of $105.20 and a 12-month high of $127.85. The business’s fifty day moving average is $122.58 and its 200 day moving average is $119.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The stock has a market cap of $96.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.44.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by ($0.04). Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 15.51%.The firm had revenue of $7.51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.18 earnings per share. Duke Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Duke Energy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.170-6.420 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were given a $1.065 dividend. This represents a $4.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. This is an increase from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is currently 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.