Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to Sell

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note published on Saturday,Wall Street Zen reports.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Duke Energy from $133.00 to $127.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $134.00 to $132.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $140.00 to $132.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $137.56.

Duke Energy Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of NYSE DUK opened at $117.44 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $91.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.37. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $123.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $125.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. Duke Energy has a 52-week low of $113.89 and a 52-week high of $134.49.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.13. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.78% and a return on equity of 9.78%. The firm had revenue of $7.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.66 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.25 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Duke Energy will post 6.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th were paid a $1.085 dividend. This is a positive change from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.06. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 14th. This represents a $4.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is presently 65.17%.

Institutional Trading of Duke Energy

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $152,000. Core Capital Management & Research inc. acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the second quarter valued at approximately $857,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in Duke Energy by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 56,447 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,145,000 after buying an additional 1,682 shares during the period. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its position in Duke Energy by 7.2% in the 2nd quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 6,762 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $856,000 after buying an additional 456 shares during the period. Finally, Archford Capital Strategies LLC grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1.7% in the second quarter. Archford Capital Strategies LLC now owns 7,979 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,010,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Strong electricity demand highlights system growth: Unusually hot September weather has driven elevated power usage across North and South Carolina. Duke asked customers to voluntarily reduce consumption during the peak 2–8 p.m. period, underscoring demand for its electricity and the importance of grid reliability. Duke Energy asks Carolinas customers to reduce electricity use during today’s peak-demand period
• Positive Sentiment: Storm response recognized: The Edison Electric Institute honored Duke for restoring service to nearly 200,000 customers after Winter Storm Fern, supporting the company’s reputation for operational execution and customer service. EEI recognizes Duke Energy for outstanding response to Winter Storm Fern
• Neutral Sentiment: Outage recovery continues: Most of Greensboro’s power had been restored by Friday evening after outages, limiting the potential for a prolonged customer-impact issue but highlighting ongoing reliability and weather-related operating risks. The majority of Greensboro’s power has been restored
• Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley lowered its price target: The firm cut its target for Duke from $133 to $127 and maintained an “equal weight” rating. While the revised target still implies upside, the reduction signals more limited near-term appreciation potential and was likely the clearest market-specific catalyst.
• Negative Sentiment: North Carolina rejected a $584 million gas-turbine proposal: State regulators denied Duke’s plan for generation near an Amazon data center. The decision could delay capacity additions, weaken expected data-center growth opportunities, and complicate recovery of investment costs from customers. NC regulators deny Duke Energy’s gas turbine proposal
• Negative Sentiment: Legal and regulatory liabilities remain concerns: Duke dropped its challenge to a workplace-safety fine tied to a lineman’s electrocution death, while a separate lawsuit alleges negligence in a power-line death. Potential penalties, litigation costs, and reputational damage are modest but unfavorable overhangs.

About Duke Energy

Duke Energy Corporation is an electric and natural gas utility holding company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company generates, transmits, distributes and sells electricity, with a generation portfolio that includes natural gas, nuclear, coal, hydroelectric and renewable energy resources. It also operates natural gas distribution businesses and provides related energy services.

Duke Energy’s regulated electric utilities serve residential, commercial and industrial customers across the Carolinas, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky.