Trust Co of the South Increases Position in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Trust Co of the South lifted its holdings in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 98.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 15,397 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 7,624 shares during the quarter. Trust Co of the South’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,805,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of DUK. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 11.6% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,754 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $728,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Duke Energy by 19.6% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 23,162 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,825,000 after buying an additional 3,797 shares during the period. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 31,238 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,686,000 after buying an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its position in Duke Energy by 91.9% in the 2nd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 5,428 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $641,000 after buying an additional 2,600 shares during the period. Finally, Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. bought a new position in Duke Energy in the 2nd quarter worth about $238,000. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

In related news, SVP Regis T. Repko sold 962 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.86, for a total transaction of $123,001.32. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 3,896 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $498,142.56. This represents a 19.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Louis E. Renjel sold 6,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,809,633.69. This trade represents a 23.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on DUK shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on Duke Energy from $143.00 to $140.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Duke Energy from $136.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Duke Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $137.80.

Duke Energy Trading Down 0.8%

DUK opened at $129.69 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. The firm has a market cap of $100.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.52 and a beta of 0.50. Duke Energy Corporation has a 12 month low of $111.22 and a 12 month high of $134.49. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $125.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $122.88.

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

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th were given a $1.065 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 13th. This represents a $4.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is presently 67.41%.

Trending Headlines about Duke Energy

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

• Positive Sentiment: Duke’s clean‑energy and customer programs are gaining traction — the company placed the 10 MW Ebbie Solar project in service in South Carolina and its Renewable Choice program exceeded enrollment targets, signaling continued corporate demand for renewables and supporting long‑term growth and ESG transition narratives. Duke Energy helps customers in South Carolina advance sustainability goals
• Positive Sentiment: Duke Energy Foundation announced $500,000 in grants to strengthen storm preparedness across North Carolina and is funding lineworker training at multiple colleges — these investments ease operational response risk and help workforce development for grid resilience. Duke Energy invests $500,000 to strengthen storm preparedness
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary and investor interest highlight Duke’s dividend appeal, infrastructure and renewable investment plan as reasons for steady, long‑term investor support. This helps demand for the stock despite near‑term headwinds. Here’s Why You Should Add Duke Energy Stock to Your Portfolio Now
• Neutral Sentiment: Duke is publicly responding to a large customer petition asking regulators to audit winter bills; the company says it’s reviewing bills and explaining the drivers — this is ongoing and may evolve into clearer regulatory risk or be resolved without material impact. Duke Energy responds to petition calling for bill audit
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor attention is elevated (search and coverage pieces from Zacks/others), which can increase short‑term volatility but also liquidity for the stock. Investors Heavily Search Duke Energy Corporation (DUK)
• Negative Sentiment: Large, recent power outage is under investigation — outages raise potential restoration and capital costs, customer dissatisfaction and regulatory scrutiny that can pressure near‑term earnings and sentiment. Duke Energy addressing cause of massive power outage
• Negative Sentiment: Nearly 50,000 customers petitioned for an audit after “sky‑high” winter bills and have amplified media complaints across multiple outlets — this raises regulatory and reputational risk that could lead to hearings, refunds or rate reviews. Customers petition for audit of Duke Energy’s electric rates
• Negative Sentiment: Criticism of Duke’s plan to expand fossil‑fuel capacity to meet rising demand highlights potential policy and ESG pushback from activists and some regulators — that could complicate permitting and increase political risk. Duke Energy plan draws criticism for expanding fossil fuels
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Duke Energy Ohio rates may rise twice before summer could fuel more customer complaints and regulatory attention, with short‑term political and PR costs. Duke Energy Ohio Rates Expected to Rise Twice Before Summer

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.