Leonteq Securities AG Purchases Shares of 5,076 Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Leonteq Securities AG bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 5,076 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $595,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 78,258,757 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,172,709,000 after acquiring an additional 1,957,592 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,758,700 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $960,139,000 after acquiring an additional 31,703 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,281,986 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $901,146,000 after acquiring an additional 288,499 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,033,225 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $622,862,000 after acquiring an additional 12,758 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 19.1% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec now owns 2,613,595 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $323,432,000 after acquiring an additional 419,992 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on DUK. Capitol Sec Mgt lowered shares of Duke Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $142.00 to $137.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $143.00 to $140.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Duke Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $143.00 to $138.00 in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $139.07.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $125.78 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $98.06 billion, a PE ratio of 19.26 and a beta of 0.41. Duke Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $113.39 and a twelve month high of $134.49. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $128.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $124.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $9.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.44 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.49% and a return on equity of 9.73%. Duke Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.76 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued a $1.065 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $4.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy

In other Duke Energy news, CEO Louis E. Renjel sold 3,500 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 21,415 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Harry K. Sideris sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.37, for a total transaction of $2,487,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 96,102 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,952,205.74. The trade was a 17.23% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 24,462 shares of company stock worth $3,048,426. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Duke Energy is being viewed as a potential beneficiary of surging power demand from data centers, which could support future generation growth and regulated utility investment opportunities. Why Duke Energy (DUK) Is Becoming a Data Center Power Demand Play
• Positive Sentiment: Goldman Sachs reiterated its bullish view by keeping Duke Energy on its Conviction List and assigning a $132 target, signaling confidence in regulatory progress and the company’s expansion plans. Why Duke Energy (DUK) Is Becoming a Data Center Power Demand Play
• Positive Sentiment: Utility-sector demand tailwinds linked to AI infrastructure are also supporting sentiment toward Duke Energy and other dividend-paying utilities. These 3 Utility Stocks Have Been Paying Dividends for Decades and AI Data Centers Just Made Them More Valuable
• Neutral Sentiment: North Carolina lawmakers moved to require approval for replacement nuclear capacity before Duke can retire coal plants, which could slow the company’s transition plans but may also protect near-term generation reliability and earnings visibility. North Carolina lawmakers just moved to block Duke Energy from closing coal plants until new nuclear is approved to replace every lost megawatt
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley cut its price target on Duke Energy to $132 from $141 while maintaining an Equalweight rating, a modestly softer analyst signal but still above the recent share price. Morgan Stanley adjusts price target on Duke Energy to 132 from 141
• Neutral Sentiment: Other items, including local outage and customer-service updates, appear operational in nature and are unlikely to materially affect the stock. Power restored for Duke Energy customers in Sullivan County

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.