AE Wealth Management LLC Increases Position in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

AE Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 51.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 49,068 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,772 shares during the period. AE Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $6,072,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. LRI Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 38.9% during the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 882 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $109,000 after buying an additional 247 shares during the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Duke Energy by 15.3% during the third quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 7,532 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $932,000 after acquiring an additional 1,002 shares during the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 6.4% in the third quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 21,861 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,532,000 after acquiring an additional 1,312 shares in the last quarter. one8zero8 LLC grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 7.8% in the third quarter. one8zero8 LLC now owns 43,259 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,353,000 after purchasing an additional 3,133 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 6.8% in the third quarter. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC now owns 28,060 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,472,000 after purchasing an additional 1,776 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on DUK shares. UBS Group dropped their price target on Duke Energy from $135.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $137.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $138.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, TD Cowen started coverage on Duke Energy in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $143.00 target price on the stock. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $134.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy

In other news, EVP Robert Alexander Glenn sold 8,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.80, for a total transaction of $1,015,160.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 11,367 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,407,234.60. The trade was a 41.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Dividend — Duke declared a quarterly dividend of $1.065 per share, supporting yield-seeking investors and steady income appeal. Dividend Announcement
• Positive Sentiment: Higher near-term demand from cold snap — Prolonged low temperatures across the Carolinas and a cold spell in Florida are driving higher residential heating load, which should increase near-term revenue; Duke is also promoting customer assistance programs to manage bills. Higher Energy Use Florida Cold Spell
• Positive Sentiment: Operational resilience — Duke reports restoration of power to ~150,000 North Carolina homes and is mobilizing for an upcoming winter storm; messaging that outage risk is lower for snow vs. ice may limit prolonged service disruptions and related costs. Power Restoration Outage Risk
• Neutral Sentiment: Customer scam warnings — Multiple local outlets report impersonation texts and fake outage messages targeting Duke customers; the company is warning customers and advising precautions. This is a reputational/operational nuisance but not a direct earnings driver. Scam Warning
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst cut — RBC Capital trimmed its target on Duke, which can pressure sentiment and cap near-term upside from analyst-following investors. RBC Target Trim
• Negative Sentiment: Peaker gas-plant consideration — Duke is evaluating a Rockingham County site for potential gas-fired “peaker” plants; this could trigger local opposition, regulatory scrutiny and incremental capital spending. Peaker Plant Site
• Negative Sentiment: Political/PR risk — Coverage questions Duke’s involvement in campaigns opposing municipal moves in Pinellas County, which could heighten regulatory/political risk and negative public attention. Pinellas County Coverage

Duke Energy Price Performance

Duke Energy stock opened at $121.23 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $94.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.50. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $118.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $121.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.63. Duke Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $110.51 and a 1 year high of $130.03.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.06. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.98% and a net margin of 15.76%.The business had revenue of $8.54 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.62 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.065 per share. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 13th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is currently 66.98%.

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.