Empowered Funds LLC Buys 8,583 Shares of Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 20.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 51,520 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 8,583 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $6,746,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DUK. KCM Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Duke Energy by 1.1% in the first 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 during the last quarter. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 3.4% during the first quarter. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. now owns 19,453 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,547,000 after purchasing an additional 638 shares during the last quarter. Excelsior Advisor Network LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 1st quarter worth about $349,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 65.3% in the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 592,879 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $77,632,000 after purchasing an additional 234,139 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clough Capital Partners L P increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 13.4% during the 1st quarter. Clough Capital Partners L P now owns 60,522 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,925,000 after purchasing an additional 7,170 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts have assigned Duke Energy a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating, indicating generally favorable expectations for the stock. Duke Energy Corporation Given Consensus Rating of Moderate Buy
• Positive Sentiment: Duke Energy’s upcoming second-quarter results are expected to benefit from grid investments, rising electricity demand and infrastructure milestones, with analysts looking for year-over-year EPS growth. Duke Energy to Release Q2 Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: New underground power-line construction and plans to employ about 1,000 workers on multibillion-dollar generation projects underscore Duke Energy’s long-term capital-investment and reliability strategy, while potentially supporting future rate-base growth. Duke Energy Starts Installing Underground Power Lines
• Neutral Sentiment: Duke Energy restored power to customers in western North Carolina following severe storms. The recovery demonstrates operational responsiveness, although storm-related restoration work can create short-term costs. Power Restored to Western North Carolina Customers
• Negative Sentiment: North Carolina regulators reduced a proposed Duke Energy rate increase by nearly half. Although customer bills would still rise, the smaller increase could limit near-term revenue and earnings support relative to the company’s original request. North Carolina Duke Energy Rate Hike Is Cut

Duke Energy Trading Down 0.6%

DUK opened at $125.47 on Friday. Duke Energy Corporation has a one year low of $113.89 and a one year high of $134.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $125.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $126.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $97.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.21, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.38.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.93 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $8.44 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.73% and a net margin of 15.49%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.76 EPS. Analysts predict that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.72 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a dividend of $1.085 per share. This represents a $4.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This is an increase from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.06. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is presently 65.24%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on DUK shares. Evercore boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $139.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Monday, May 11th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $138.00 to $134.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $135.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $139.00 to $135.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $137.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Duke Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $138.62.

Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy

In other Duke Energy news, CEO Louis E. Renjel sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 21,415 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,680,087.25. This represents a 14.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Harry K. Sideris sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 96,102 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,952,205.74. This represents a 17.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.