Duke Energy Corporation $DUK Stock: Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Boosts Position

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 16.0% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 48,227 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 6,645 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $5,498,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $605,680,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 5,254.4% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,735,816 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $358,227,000 after purchasing an additional 2,684,721 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 7.1% during the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 2,282,341 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $298,850,000 after purchasing an additional 151,400 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 2.9% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,092,284 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $273,979,000 after purchasing an additional 58,967 shares during the period. Finally, National Pension Service increased its position in Duke Energy by 1.8% in the second quarter. National Pension Service now owns 2,124,004 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $268,856,000 after buying an additional 36,835 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Duke Energy

Here are a few of the latest stories about DUK:

• Positive Sentiment: North Carolina’s removal of a key climate target has reportedly benefited Duke financially this year, potentially easing constraints on its generation plans. The policy shift may also invite continued scrutiny from climate advocates. North Carolina law and Duke Energy
• Neutral Sentiment: Duke reached an agreement in North Carolina on customer protections for data-center power costs. The agreement may help address concerns about shifting costs to other customers, though the details and financial impact are not provided. Duke Energy reaches North Carolina data-center protections agreement
• Negative Sentiment: ETFs were net sellers of $43.7 million of DUK shares on Nov. 10, a short-term demand signal that may weigh on sentiment, though fund flows alone do not establish a change in the company’s outlook. ETFs are net sellers of Duke Energy

Duke Energy Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE:DUK opened at $128.59 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $100.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.80, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.33. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $120.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $124.71. Duke Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $112.40 and a 1 year high of $134.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.44.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.13. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.82% and a net margin of 15.94%. The company had revenue of $9.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.91 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.81 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.73 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 13th will be paid a $1.0850 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 13th. This represents a $4.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.45%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on DUK. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Duke Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 7th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Duke Energy from $134.00 to $132.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $135.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 12th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $132.19.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Bonnie Titone sold 2,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.00, for a total transaction of $371,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 26,111 shares in the company, valued at $3,342,208. This represents a 10.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Duke Energy Company Profile

Duke Energy is a U.S. energy company focused primarily on regulated electric utilities and natural gas distribution. Its businesses generate, transmit and distribute electricity, and provide natural gas service to residential, commercial and industrial customers. The company serves electric customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky. Its natural gas distribution operations serve customers in several states, including North Carolina, South Carolina, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee.