Bessemer Group Inc. Increases Stock Position in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 1.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,200,569 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 17,355 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. owned approximately 0.15% of Duke Energy worth $157,202,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Avalon Trust Co purchased a new stake in Duke Energy during the first quarter worth $105,000. Gerald Baker Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $335,000. Frisch Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $255,000. Independent Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 1st quarter worth $1,212,000. Finally, Enterprise Financial Services Corp lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 6.5% during the 1st quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp now owns 2,568 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $336,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of DUK stock opened at $125.99 on Friday. Duke Energy Corporation has a 1-year low of $113.89 and a 1-year high of $134.49. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $124.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $125.42. 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 company has a market cap of $98.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.29 and a beta of 0.38.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $9.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.44 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.73% and a net margin of 15.49%.The firm’s revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.76 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.085 per share. This represents a $4.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. This is an increase from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.06. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.24%.

Key Headlines Impacting Duke Energy

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

• Positive Sentiment: Duke Energy boosted its quarterly dividend to $1.085 per share, a 1.9% increase from the prior payout, reinforcing its appeal as an income stock. PR Newswire dividend/program article
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan raised its price target on Duke Energy to $141 from $136, signaling continued confidence in the stock’s valuation and a modest upside from current levels. Benzinga price target article
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to point to solid growth prospects, with recent commentary highlighting Duke’s contracted load and longer-term growth plan as credible support for earnings. Seeking Alpha contracted load article
• Neutral Sentiment: Duke Energy Florida said its EnergyWise Home program can provide customer bill credits with minimal effort, which is supportive of customer relations but not a major earnings driver. Yahoo Finance EnergyWise Home article
• Neutral Sentiment: Clearwater is set to vote on a 30-year Duke Energy deal, which could help preserve the utility’s local footprint but is still pending. Clearwater vote article
• Negative Sentiment: North Carolina’s attorney general is challenging Duke Energy Progress rate hikes, adding regulatory pressure and uncertainty around future revenue growth. Attorney general challenge article
• Negative Sentiment: Another report said the attorney general is seeking to block nearly $1 billion in Duke Energy rate hikes over the next two years, reinforcing the regulatory overhang. Yahoo News rate hikes article
• Negative Sentiment: A Greensboro outage affecting thousands of customers highlights ongoing operational reliability issues, though the number of impacted customers has since been cut roughly in half. Greensboro outage article

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Duke Energy from $143.00 to $138.00 in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Duke Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 28th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $132.00 to $136.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $136.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $138.67.

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.