Optas LLC Buys 2,952 Shares of Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Optas LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 104.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,782 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,952 shares during the quarter. Optas LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $682,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. GQG Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 17,880.0% in the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 10,249,508 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,250,133,000 after purchasing an additional 10,192,503 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $702,351,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 88.1% in the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 4,861,309 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $592,934,000 after purchasing an additional 2,276,948 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 2.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 74,562,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,094,327,000 after purchasing an additional 1,676,061 shares during the period. Finally, Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 359.1% in the first quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 1,132,613 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $138,145,000 after acquiring an additional 885,900 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of DUK stock opened at $125.30 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $97.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.44. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $122.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $119.73. Duke Energy Corporation has a 12-month low of $105.20 and a 12-month high of $127.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55.

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

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a $1.065 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. This is an increase from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. This represents a $4.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 69.27%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on DUK. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Wednesday. Raymond James Financial started coverage on Duke Energy in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Evercore ISI started coverage on Duke Energy in a report on Monday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $143.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $131.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $127.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $133.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Thomas Preston Jr. Gillespie sold 6,700 shares of Duke Energy 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 46,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,768,397.72. This trade represents a 12.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Bonnie B. Titone sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s 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 directly owned 19,608 shares in the company, valued at $2,438,843.04. This trade represents a 9.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.