Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Sells 4,149 Shares of Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 1.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 407,080 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 4,149 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC owned 0.05% of Duke Energy worth $53,287,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 78,258,757 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,172,709,000 after purchasing an additional 1,957,592 shares during the last quarter. Amundi grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 56.9% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,662,460 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $312,067,000 after buying an additional 965,808 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,236,893 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $965,446,000 after buying an additional 954,907 shares during the period. Milford Funds Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $97,905,000. Finally, Cohen & Steers Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 83.3% in the fourth quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 1,711,445 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $200,598,000 after acquiring an additional 777,878 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Duke Energy

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

• Positive Sentiment: Truist raised its price target on Duke Energy to $138 and reiterated a Buy rating, signaling confidence in the utility’s earnings outlook and suggesting meaningful upside from current levels. Benzinga report on Truist rating update
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan also lifted its price target to $141, even while keeping a Neutral rating, which still reflects expectations for solid longer-term value creation. Benzinga report on JPMorgan target increase
• Positive Sentiment: Recent commentary highlighted Duke Energy as one of the utilities best positioned for long-term growth thanks to its strong customer base and large capital expenditure program, with analysts pointing to contracted load and new demand from data centers as supportive of future earnings. Seeking Alpha article
• Neutral Sentiment: Duke Energy is expected to report second-quarter results next month, and analysts are looking for a modest earnings increase, keeping attention on whether the company can deliver on its growth plans. Barchart article
• Neutral Sentiment: Local coverage suggests Clearwater may renew its long-term electricity contract with Duke Energy, which would help preserve customer relationships and support revenue stability. Yahoo Finance article
• Negative Sentiment: North Carolina’s attorney general is challenging proposed Duke Energy Progress rate increases, adding another regulatory hurdle that could limit future pricing power and earnings growth. MSN article
• Negative Sentiment: Additional reports say AG Jeff Jackson is seeking to block nearly $1 billion in Duke Energy rate hikes over the next two years, reinforcing investor concerns about regulatory pushback on returns. Yahoo News article

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on DUK. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $139.00 to $135.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Capitol Sec Mgt lowered shares of Duke Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Duke Energy from $143.00 to $138.00 in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on Duke Energy from $137.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $138.73.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DUK opened at $125.04 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $97.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.15, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.38. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $124.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $125.42. Duke Energy Corporation has a 12 month low of $113.89 and a 12 month high of $134.49.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $9.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.44 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.49% and a return on equity of 9.73%. The business’s revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.76 EPS. Analysts expect that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.72 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a dividend of $1.085 per share. This is a boost from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.06. This represents a $4.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.46%.

Insider Transactions at Duke Energy

In other news, CEO Harry K. Sideris sold 20,000 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.37, for a total value of $2,487,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 96,102 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,952,205.74. The trade was a 17.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Louis E. Renjel sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.15, for a total value of $438,025.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 21,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,680,087.25. The trade was a 14.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Company 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.