Leonteq Securities AG Makes New $595,000 Investment in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Leonteq Securities AG bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 5,076 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $595,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. ABN Amro Investment Solutions purchased a new stake in Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth $3,751,000. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 80.2% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 44,936 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,267,000 after purchasing an additional 20,005 shares during the last quarter. Intrust Bank NA lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 8,174 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $958,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 38,185 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,475,000 after purchasing an additional 1,172 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 14,658 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,718,000 after purchasing an additional 1,418 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 21,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,680,087.25. This represents a 14.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Harry K. Sideris sold 20,000 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 96,102 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,952,205.74. The trade was a 17.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 24,462 shares of company stock valued at $3,048,426. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Duke Energy Price Performance

NYSE DUK opened at $125.78 on Friday. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average price is $128.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $124.02. Duke Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $113.39 and a 1 year high of $134.49. The company has a market cap of $98.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.26 and a beta of 0.41.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.93 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $9.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.76 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.24%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Mizuho increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $130.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $141.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Evercore increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $139.00 to $140.00 in a report on Monday, May 11th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Duke Energy from $143.00 to $138.00 in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Duke Energy from $142.00 to $137.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $139.07.

Duke Energy News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Duke Energy is being viewed as a potential beneficiary of surging power demand from data centers, which could support future generation growth and regulated utility investment opportunities. Why Duke Energy (DUK) Is Becoming a Data Center Power Demand Play
• Positive Sentiment: Goldman Sachs reiterated its bullish view by keeping Duke Energy on its Conviction List and assigning a $132 target, signaling confidence in regulatory progress and the company’s expansion plans. Why Duke Energy (DUK) Is Becoming a Data Center Power Demand Play
• Positive Sentiment: Utility-sector demand tailwinds linked to AI infrastructure are also supporting sentiment toward Duke Energy and other dividend-paying utilities. These 3 Utility Stocks Have Been Paying Dividends for Decades and AI Data Centers Just Made Them More Valuable
• Neutral Sentiment: North Carolina lawmakers moved to require approval for replacement nuclear capacity before Duke can retire coal plants, which could slow the company’s transition plans but may also protect near-term generation reliability and earnings visibility. North Carolina lawmakers just moved to block Duke Energy from closing coal plants until new nuclear is approved to replace every lost megawatt
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley cut its price target on Duke Energy to $132 from $141 while maintaining an Equalweight rating, a modestly softer analyst signal but still above the recent share price. Morgan Stanley adjusts price target on Duke Energy to 132 from 141
• Neutral Sentiment: Other items, including local outage and customer-service updates, appear operational in nature and are unlikely to materially affect the stock. Power restored for Duke Energy customers in Sullivan County

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.