Duke Energy Corporation $DUK Stake Lessened by Orange Investment Advisors Inc.

Orange Investment Advisors Inc. decreased its position in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 13.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 35,603 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 5,499 shares during the period. Orange Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $4,662,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Red Door Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Red Door Wealth Management LLC now owns 57,694 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,555,000 after purchasing an additional 903 shares in the last quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 109.6% in the first quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 19,276 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,524,000 after buying an additional 10,080 shares during the period. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 11.3% during the first quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,628 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $213,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the period. Financial Futures Ltd Liability Co. bought a new stake in Duke Energy in the first quarter worth about $470,000. Finally, Kenora Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Kenora Financial LLC now owns 10,912 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,429,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Duke Energy Trading Down 0.0%

NYSE:DUK opened at $128.35 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.44. Duke Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $113.89 and a fifty-two week high of $134.49. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $124.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $124.39. The stock has a market cap of $100.06 billion, a PE ratio of 19.66 and a beta of 0.39.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $9.18 billion during 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%. The firm’s revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.76 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were given a $1.065 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $4.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.24%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Duke Energy news, CEO Louis E. Renjel sold 3,500 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.15, for a total transaction of $438,025.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 21,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,680,087.25. This trade represents a 14.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Harry K. Sideris sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 96,102 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,952,205.74. This represents a 17.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Duke Energy

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

• Positive Sentiment: Duke Energy is being highlighted as a defensive stock in a higher-inflation, higher-rate environment, which can attract income-oriented investors looking for stability and dividends. Buy 4 Defensive Stocks as Inflation Hits Highest Level in 3 Years
• Positive Sentiment: Mizuho reiterated an Outperform rating on Duke Energy, saying it can execute despite near-term regulatory challenges; the firm also maintained a higher price target than the current trading range. Mizuho Says Duke Energy (DUK) Can Execute Despite Near-Term Regulatory Challenges
• Positive Sentiment: Duke Energy’s efforts to harden the grid ahead of hurricane season, including “self-healing” upgrades, could support reliability and reduce outage risk over time. Duke Energy prepares for hurricane season with “self-healing” upgrades
• Neutral Sentiment: The company is also being discussed as a high-dividend blue-chip utility, reinforcing its appeal as a steady income name rather than a growth stock. Is Duke Energy (DUK) One of the Best S&P 500 Stocks to Buy for Dividends?
• Negative Sentiment: North Carolina’s attorney general still says Duke’s revised request for an 11.6% rate hike is too high, keeping regulatory pressure front and center for the stock. Duke Energy cuts proposed NC rate hike to 11.6%, still too high, AG says
• Negative Sentiment: Fresh headlines about a lawsuit over Duke’s solar procurement pause and local service disruptions, including an Asheville outage, add to concerns about operations and public scrutiny. Lawsuit targets Duke Energy solar pause that could raise customer bills Power outage hits downtown Asheville; underground equipment damaged: Duke Energy
• Negative Sentiment: Community pushback in places like Clearwater and Swain County over Duke projects suggests continued local resistance that could slow development or raise costs. Clearwater considers replacing Duke Energy with city-owned electric utility Swain property owners express Duke Needmore route concerns

Analyst Ratings Changes

DUK has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $143.00 to $134.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $132.00 to $136.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $139.00 to $138.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price target on Duke Energy from $139.00 to $135.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $138.33.

About Duke Energy

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.