Machina Capital S.A.S. Buys New Position in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Machina Capital S.A.S. bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 15,283 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,891,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Pflug Koory LLC lifted its position in Duke Energy by 3.0% during the third quarter. Pflug Koory LLC now owns 2,694 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $333,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. WealthShield Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. WealthShield Partners LLC now owns 25,453 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,003,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 5,048 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $625,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the period. EWA LLC increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. EWA LLC now owns 2,203 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $273,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Wealth Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Duke Energy by 6.4% during the 2nd quarter. Private Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 1,408 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $166,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $122.21 on Thursday. Duke Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $110.51 and a twelve month high of $130.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $118.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $121.58. The firm has a market cap of $95.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.22, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.51.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.06. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.98% and a net margin of 15.76%.The company had revenue of $8.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.62 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th will be issued a $1.065 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 13th. This represents a $4.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.98%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Robert Alexander Glenn sold 8,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.80, for a total transaction of $1,015,160.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 11,367 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,407,234.60. This represents a 41.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DUK has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $135.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $130.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Scotiabank raised their price target on Duke Energy from $137.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Duke Energy from $126.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $130.00 target price on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $134.50.

Duke Energy 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.