Brookstone Capital Management Sells 4,492 Shares of Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Brookstone Capital Management lowered its holdings in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 120,496 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 4,492 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $14,911,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Activest Wealth Management lifted its position in Duke Energy by 98.1% during the first quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 212 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 53.7% during the 2nd quarter. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC now owns 249 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Access Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy in the second quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Saudi Central Bank bought a new position in Duke Energy in the first quarter valued at $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on DUK shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Duke Energy from $138.00 to $126.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $126.00 target price on Duke Energy in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. BTIG Research raised shares of Duke Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $135.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $136.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy

In related news, EVP Robert Alexander Glenn sold 8,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.80, for a total value of $1,015,160.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 11,367 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,407,234.60. This trade represents a 41.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of DUK stock opened at $117.55 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $91.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.48, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.49. Duke Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $105.20 and a fifty-two week high of $130.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.63. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $121.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $121.22.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.06. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.76% and a return on equity of 9.98%. The firm had revenue of $8.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.62 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 14th were paid a dividend of $1.065 per share. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 66.98%.

About Duke Energy

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.