OLD Republic International Corp Sells 109,035 Shares of Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

OLD Republic International Corp trimmed its position in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 22.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 383,196 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 109,035 shares during the period. Duke Energy accounts for 1.8% of OLD Republic International Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. OLD Republic International Corp’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $44,914,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of DUK. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 11.6% in the 4th 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 boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 19.6% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 23,162 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,825,000 after purchasing an additional 3,797 shares during the period. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 31,238 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,686,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares during the period. AXA S.A. boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 523.4% in the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 42,233 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,983,000 after purchasing an additional 35,458 shares during the period. Finally, Nebula Research & Development LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at $954,000. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Duke Energy

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Regis T. Repko sold 962 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.86, for a total value of $123,001.32. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 3,896 shares in the company, valued at $498,142.56. This trade represents a 19.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Harry K. Sideris sold 20,000 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.37, for a total transaction of $2,487,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 96,102 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,952,205.74. The trade was a 17.23% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 24,462 shares of company stock worth $3,048,426 in the last 90 days. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DUK has been the subject of several analyst reports. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $141.00 price target on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Friday, January 30th. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $130.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Duke Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 28th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Duke Energy from $127.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $139.07.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.9%

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

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released 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 business had revenue of $9.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.44 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.73% and a net margin of 15.49%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.76 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be 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 is Friday, May 15th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.24%.

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.