American National Bank & Trust Raises Stake in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

American National Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 125.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 8,176 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,552 shares during the quarter. American National Bank & Trust’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,012,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. now owns 20,211 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,501,000 after buying an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. apricus wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 0.9% in the third quarter. apricus wealth LLC now owns 21,911 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,711,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 10.1% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 20,430 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,528,000 after acquiring an additional 1,882 shares in the last quarter. Pflug Koory LLC grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 3.0% in the third quarter. Pflug Koory LLC now owns 2,694 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $333,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bell Bank raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Bell Bank now owns 79,284 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,811,000 after purchasing an additional 677 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DUK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Duke Energy to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Monday, October 6th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $143.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $136.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Duke Energy from $138.00 to $126.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on Duke Energy from $135.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $136.50.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $117.40 on Friday. Duke Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $105.20 and a twelve month high of $130.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. The company’s 50 day moving average is $120.35 and its 200 day moving average is $121.24. The company has a market cap of $91.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.50.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $8.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.51 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.76% and a return on equity of 9.98%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.62 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 14th were given a $1.065 dividend. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.