Swiss National Bank Cuts Stock Holdings in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Swiss National Bank trimmed its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 4.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,130,941 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 109,600 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $249,768,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in Duke Energy by 11.6% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,754 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $728,000 after buying an additional 700 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in Duke Energy by 19.6% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 23,162 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,825,000 after buying an additional 3,797 shares during the period. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. boosted its position in Duke Energy by 1.0% during the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 31,238 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,686,000 after buying an additional 315 shares during the period. AXA S.A. boosted its position in Duke Energy by 523.4% during the second quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 42,233 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,983,000 after buying an additional 35,458 shares during the period. Finally, Nebula Research & Development LLC purchased a new stake in Duke Energy during the second quarter valued at about $954,000. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Duke Energy

In related news, CEO Harry K. Sideris sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.37, for a total value of $2,487,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 96,102 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,952,205.74. This represents a 17.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Louis E. Renjel sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.15, for a total transaction of $438,025.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 21,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,680,087.25. The trade was a 14.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Duke Energy

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

• Positive Sentiment: Duke Energy joined the new Careers Electric coalition, aiming to help train 25,000 workers over the next 10 years and strengthen the utility’s labor pipeline, especially in North Carolina. That could support Duke’s ability to staff grid and infrastructure projects as demand rises. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The U.S. Department of Energy approved up to $96 million in grants to help refurbish Duke’s coal-fired plants in Kentucky and North Carolina, which may reduce capital burden and support grid reliability. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: CEO Harry Sideris said electricity demand is growing at 10 times the historical pace, reinforcing the long-term case for regulated utilities like Duke as data-center and electrification demand accelerate. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Duke was named a “Moderate Buy” by brokerages, which supports a constructive longer-term view but is not a fresh catalyst by itself. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor interest remains elevated, with Duke appearing frequently in stock-watch and “trending stock” coverage, suggesting the market is still reassessing the utility’s growth story. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory headlines are weighing on sentiment, including questions over Duke’s role in attracting new data centers to North Carolina and concerns that a pause in solar procurement could affect customer bills and project timing. Article Title Article Title

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DUK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Evercore increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $139.00 to $140.00 in a report on Monday, May 11th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Monday, May 4th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $137.00 to $135.00 in a report on Monday, May 11th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $127.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Duke Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 28th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Duke Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $138.93.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Duke Energy stock opened at $124.23 on Friday. Duke Energy Corporation has a 1-year low of $113.66 and a 1-year high of $134.49. The firm has a market cap of $96.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.02 and a beta of 0.39. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $126.28 and a 200-day moving average of $124.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45.

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

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a $1.065 dividend. This represents a $4.26 dividend on an annualized basis 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%.

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.