Waverly Advisors LLC Increases Stock Position in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Waverly Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 4.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 109,980 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,333 shares during the period. Waverly Advisors LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $14,401,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the first quarter worth about $2,668,000. Cannell & Spears LLC grew its stake in Duke Energy by 10.3% during the 1st quarter. Cannell & Spears LLC now owns 3,476 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $456,000 after purchasing an additional 324 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 158.2% during the 1st quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 662,844 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $86,793,000 after purchasing an additional 406,102 shares during the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $219,000. Finally, Morningstar Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 21.1% during the 1st quarter. Morningstar Investment Management LLC now owns 26,772 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,506,000 after buying an additional 4,673 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Duke Energy

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

• Positive Sentiment: KeyCorp reiterated an Overweight rating on Duke Energy and raised its longer-term earnings outlook, nudging up FY2027, FY2028, and FY2029 EPS estimates. The firm also kept a $139 price target, suggesting confidence in Duke’s earnings growth trajectory.
• Positive Sentiment: Duke Energy unveiled its Customer Protection Plus framework, designed to support rapid data center-driven power demand while aiming to deliver billions in customer savings. Investors may view this as a constructive way to monetize infrastructure growth without triggering excessive pushback from customers. Duke Energy (DUK) Unveils Customer Savings Plan To Back Data Center Growth
• Positive Sentiment: The company also announced a higher quarterly dividend, reinforcing Duke Energy’s appeal as an income stock and helping attract dividend-focused investors. Can Duke Energy (DUK) Justify Its Price As Its Higher Dividend Draws Attention?
• Neutral Sentiment: North Carolina leaders and regulators are pressuring Duke Energy to make its federal data-center pledge legally binding. This could support accountability and customer trust, but it also raises regulatory scrutiny around future growth plans.
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory criticism of Duke’s proposed rate increases remains a headwind, with North Carolina’s attorney general saying the lowered request is still too high. That could add pressure to future profitability if rate approvals become more difficult.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on DUK shares. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $143.00 to $134.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $143.00 to $138.00 in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Morgan Stanley set a $138.00 price target on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $135.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on Duke Energy from $137.00 to $135.00 in a report on Monday, May 11th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $138.62.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:DUK opened at $130.54 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $125.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $125.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.66. Duke Energy Corporation has a 1-year low of $113.89 and a 1-year high of $134.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $101.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.38.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.06. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.49% and a return on equity of 9.73%. The business had revenue of $9.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.76 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.72 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.085 per share. This represents a $4.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. This is a boost from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.06. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.24%.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

In related news, CEO Louis E. Renjel sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.15, for a total transaction of $438,025.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 21,415 shares in the company, valued at $2,680,087.25. The trade was a 14.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Harry K. Sideris sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.37, for a total value of $2,487,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 96,102 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,952,205.74. The trade was a 17.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Duke Energy

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.