Duke Energy Corporation $DUK Shares Acquired by Advisors Capital Management LLC

Advisors Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 541,896 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 21,049 shares during the quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $67,060,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the second quarter worth about $28,000. Access Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Anfield Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 2,608.3% in the 2nd quarter. Anfield Capital Management LLC now owns 325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 313 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Total Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Duke Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $137.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $141.00 price target on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Mizuho set a $130.00 price objective on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $141.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Duke Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $135.19.

Duke Energy Trading Down 1.1%

NYSE:DUK opened at $126.75 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $98.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.51. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $119.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $121.90. 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 52 week low of $110.51 and a 52 week high of $130.03.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.01. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.41% and a return on equity of 9.66%. The company had revenue of $7.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.57 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.66 earnings per share. Duke Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.550-6.800 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be given a dividend of $1.065 per share. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 13th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.41%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Louis E. Renjel sold 6,800 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 22,007 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,809,633.69. This represents a 23.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.