Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC Grows Stake in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,821 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 233 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $805,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 4.8% in the first quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. now owns 1,827 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $223,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Lokken Investment Group LLC boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Lokken Investment Group LLC now owns 2,633 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $321,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management grew its position in Duke Energy by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management now owns 27,517 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,356,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Private Wealth Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Duke Energy by 6.4% during the 2nd quarter. Private Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 1,408 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $166,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clear Creek Financial Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 3.7% in the first quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 2,441 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $298,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Duke Energy

In other news, EVP Thomas Preston Jr. Gillespie sold 6,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.26, for a total transaction of $832,542.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Bonnie B. Titone sold 2,000 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 19,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,438,843.04. This represents a 9.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on DUK shares. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $134.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $127.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $131.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $131.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $136.77.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.9%

Duke Energy stock opened at $128.55 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $123.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $120.13. 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 firm has a market cap of $99.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.44. Duke Energy Corporation has a 52 week low of $105.20 and a 52 week high of $129.51.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly 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). The company had revenue of $7.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.07 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.51% and a return on equity of 9.85%. The company’s 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 earnings per share. Duke Energy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.170-6.420 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

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

Duke Energy Company Profile

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.