Duke Energy Corporation $DUK Shares Sold by Employees Retirement System of Texas

Employees Retirement System of Texas lowered its holdings in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 24.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 77,709 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 25,066 shares during the quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Duke Energy were worth $9,616,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 11.6% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,754 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $728,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 19.6% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 23,162 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,825,000 after purchasing an additional 3,797 shares during the period. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 31,238 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,686,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares during the last quarter. Aviva PLC raised its position in Duke Energy by 4.3% in the second quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 13,213 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,559,000 after purchasing an additional 539 shares during the period. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 91.9% during the second quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 5,428 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $641,000 after purchasing an additional 2,600 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Louis E. Renjel sold 6,800 shares of the firm’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 owned 22,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,809,633.69. This trade represents a 23.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Regis T. Repko sold 962 shares of the company’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 value of $123,001.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 3,896 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $498,142.56. This trade represents a 19.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on DUK shares. Mizuho set a $130.00 price objective on Duke Energy in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $136.00 target price on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley set a $139.00 target price on Duke Energy in a report on Friday, February 20th. Evercore reiterated an “in-line” rating and set a $139.00 price target on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and set a $141.00 price target on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $137.80.

Duke Energy Trading Up 1.4%

NYSE DUK opened at $131.81 on Friday. Duke Energy Corporation has a 52 week low of $111.22 and a 52 week high of $133.20. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $123.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $122.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $102.50 billion, a PE ratio of 20.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.50.

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

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be issued a $1.065 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 13th. This represents a $4.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.41%.

Duke Energy News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: UBS analyst says DUK stock is expected to rise, providing third‑party support for the name and reinforcing buying interest. Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) Stock Price Expected to Rise, UBS Group Analyst Says
• Positive Sentiment: Duke opened its largest battery storage facility in Knightdale — a near-term growth/renewables milestone that supports transition narratives and long‑term rate base expansion. Duke Energy’s largest battery storage facility now open in Knightdale
• Positive Sentiment: Agreements with North and South Carolina officials to combine two utility businesses reduce regulatory uncertainty around the merger and lower execution risk. Duke Energy reaches agreements with NC, SC officials to combine 2 utility companies
• Neutral Sentiment: Duke recently completed a $1.5B private offering of 3.000% convertible notes (and earlier upsized a $1.3B convertible), actions framed as refinancing maturing paper — reduces 2026 maturities but increases potential share conversion risk. Duke Energy Completes $1.5 Billion Convertible Notes Offering A Look At Duke Energy (DUK) Valuation After Upsized US$1.3b Convertible Notes Refinancing
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent quarterly results showed a slight EPS beat and solid revenue, which supports the stock’s momentum but doesn’t eliminate capital‑structure concerns. Why Is Duke Energy (DUK) Up 3.9% Since Last Earnings Report?
• Negative Sentiment: Duke announced a $6 billion common-stock offering — a potentially dilutive move that likely pressured shares as investors price in share count increase and near‑term EPS dilution. Duke Energy (DUK) Announces $6 Billion Common Stock Offering
• Negative Sentiment: Customer pushback and local rate-hike votes (e.g., New Bern) plus calls for audits in NC highlight regulatory and political risk tied to rates — these could complicate future rate cases or require concessions. NC residents sound alarm over rising energy bills, demand audit of Duke Energy New Bern council to vote on 2% utility rate hike amid Duke Energy wholesale increase
• Negative Sentiment: Merger-related concessions that reduce customer costs could limit near‑term rate base returns and margins, tempering some upside from the combined operations. Duke Energy’s merger deal includes reducing customer costs

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.