Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Decreases Holdings in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 426,984 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 8,384 shares during the quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $50,047,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 78,258,757 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,172,709,000 after purchasing an additional 1,957,592 shares during the period. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $86,309,000. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al raised its position in Duke Energy by 447.3% in the 4th quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al now owns 513,905 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $60,235,000 after purchasing an additional 420,005 shares during the last quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec raised its position in Duke Energy by 19.1% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec now owns 2,613,595 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $323,432,000 after purchasing an additional 419,992 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 178.1% during the 4th quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 505,891 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $59,376,000 after purchasing an additional 323,991 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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: The U.S. Department of Energy selected Duke Energy for up to $61.8 million in grant funding to upgrade coal-fired plants in Kentucky and North Carolina, lifting total federal support for Duke projects to nearly $96 million. The funding should help improve reliability and may reduce customer costs. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Duke Energy said it sees data centers driving power demand growth at roughly 10x historic pace, which supports a longer-term growth story for utility load and capital investment. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Duke Energy also received a separate $61.8 million DOE grant headline from market coverage, reinforcing investor interest in federal support for its coal plant modernization efforts. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Duke Energy Foundation announced $500,000 in grants for South Carolina emergency preparedness and another $500,000 for small-business support in North Carolina. These are positive for reputation, but likely limited direct stock impact. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: North Carolina customers and consumer groups are pushing back hard against Duke Energy’s proposed 18% rate hike, which could increase regulatory scrutiny and weigh on sentiment if approval becomes difficult. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: St. Petersburg approved a feasibility study on leaving Duke Energy Florida for a city-run utility, a reminder of customer dissatisfaction and a potential long-term competitive/regulatory risk. Article Title

Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy

In other Duke Energy news, CEO Louis E. Renjel sold 3,500 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 21,415 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,680,087.25. The trade was a 14.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Harry K. Sideris sold 20,000 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 96,102 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,952,205.74. This trade represents a 17.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of DUK opened at $124.28 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $126.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $123.97. Duke Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $113.66 and a twelve month high of $134.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $96.89 billion, a PE ratio of 19.03 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 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.06. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.73% and a net margin of 15.49%.The business had revenue of $9.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.44 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.76 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued a $1.065 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $4.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.24%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Capitol Sec Mgt lowered shares of Duke Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $139.00 to $136.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Duke Energy from $137.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Evercore increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $139.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $138.93.

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.