Duke Energy Corporation $DUK Shares Acquired by Merit Financial Group LLC

Merit Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 15.7% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 70,388 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,562 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $8,910,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Duke Energy by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 78,258,757 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,172,709,000 after purchasing an additional 1,957,592 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,292,633 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,266,675,000 after buying an additional 230,375 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,931,127 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,046,818,000 after buying an additional 58,375 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 13.1% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,758,700 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $960,139,000 after buying an additional 31,703 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on DUK. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $143.00 to $138.00 in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Evercore raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $139.00 to $140.00 in a report on Monday, May 11th. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. KeyCorp raised Duke Energy from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $139.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Mizuho set a $136.00 target price on Duke Energy in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $138.44.

Duke Energy Stock Down 0.5%

DUK opened at $123.83 on Friday. Duke Energy Corporation has a 52 week low of $113.89 and a 52 week high of $134.49. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $125.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $126.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. The company has a market cap of $96.55 billion, a PE ratio of 18.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.38.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $7.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.66 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.78% and a net margin of 15.78%.The company’s revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.25 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.72 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a $1.085 dividend. This is a positive change from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.06. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $4.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 63.96%.

Trending Headlines about Duke Energy

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

• Positive Sentiment: Utilities could benefit from rising electricity demand tied to the rapid expansion of artificial-intelligence data centers. The trend supports Duke Energy’s long-term generation and grid-investment opportunity, although the referenced article focuses on utility ETFs rather than DUK specifically. Utility ETFs to Buy as Rapid AI Buildout Sparks Energy Crisis
• Positive Sentiment: Duke Energy has restored most power after severe storms in Greater Cincinnati, with nearly 223,000 outages addressed and crews working to restore the remaining customers. Faster restoration limits prolonged service disruption and reputational damage. Duke Energy restores 85% of Greater Cincinnati outages
• Neutral Sentiment: The Duke Energy Foundation announced $500,000 for North Carolina small-business programs and emergency grants for storm recovery in Ohio and Kentucky. The initiatives may support community relations but are not financially material to DUK. Duke Energy invests $500,000 to help small businesses
• Negative Sentiment: Duke Energy completed the sale of 40 million equity units. The financing provides capital for infrastructure and growth, but the additional equity can dilute existing shareholders and signals substantial funding needs. Duke Energy Completes Major Equity Units Financing Offering
• Negative Sentiment: North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson is challenging a proposed 6.8% residential rate increase and rejecting the related settlement. Regulatory opposition raises uncertainty over Duke’s ability to recover costs and earn its targeted returns. AG Jeff Jackson rejects Duke Energy settlement
• Negative Sentiment: A proposed Duke Energy plant is drawing opposition in Davie and Davidson counties, creating potential permitting, construction and political obstacles. More than 2,000 customers also remained without power during severe storms, highlighting near-term reliability and restoration costs. Duke Energy plant proposal draws opposition

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.