Clear Trail Advisors LLC Purchases New Stake in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Clear Trail Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 16,775 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,966,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 76,301,165 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,442,269,000 after buying an additional 584,382 shares in the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 11,417.7% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 17,668,789 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,084,917,000 after acquiring an additional 17,515,383 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Duke Energy by 0.4% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,758,700 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $960,139,000 after acquiring an additional 31,703 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Duke Energy by 4.1% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,281,986 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $901,146,000 after acquiring an additional 288,499 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in Duke Energy by 0.3% during the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,033,225 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $622,862,000 after purchasing an additional 12,758 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Duke Energy from $141.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $136.00 price target on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Mizuho set a $130.00 price objective on Duke Energy in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Barclays decreased their target price on Duke Energy from $135.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $136.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $137.80.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

NYSE DUK opened at $127.26 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $125.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $122.97. The stock has a market cap of $98.96 billion, a PE ratio of 20.14 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.55. Duke Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $111.22 and a fifty-two week high of $134.49.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.01. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.66% and a net margin of 15.41%.The company had revenue of $7.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.66 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th were paid a dividend of $1.065 per share. This represents a $4.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 13th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.41%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Louis E. Renjel sold 6,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.67, for a total transaction of $868,156.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 22,007 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,809,633.69. The trade was a 23.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Regis T. Repko sold 962 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.86, for a total transaction of $123,001.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 3,896 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $498,142.56. This trade represents a 19.80% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

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.