National Pension Service Acquires 38,884 Shares of Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

National Pension Service increased its holdings in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 1.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,050,511 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 38,884 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned approximately 0.26% of Duke Energy worth $253,751,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pflug Koory LLC grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 3.0% in the third quarter. Pflug Koory LLC now owns 2,694 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $333,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. WealthShield Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. WealthShield Partners LLC now owns 25,453 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,003,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 5,048 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $625,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. EWA LLC grew its position in Duke Energy by 3.9% in the third quarter. EWA LLC now owns 2,203 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $273,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the period. Finally, Private Wealth Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 6.4% in the 2nd quarter. Private Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 1,408 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $166,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

More Duke Energy News

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Robert Alexander Glenn sold 8,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.80, for a total value of $1,015,160.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 11,367 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,407,234.60. This represents a 41.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on DUK. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $135.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Duke Energy from $126.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $138.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Evercore ISI began coverage on Duke Energy in a research report on Monday, October 6th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $143.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Monday, December 29th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $134.50.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.3%

DUK stock opened at $121.23 on Friday. Duke Energy Corporation has a 52 week low of $110.51 and a 52 week high of $130.03. The company has a market cap of $94.28 billion, a PE ratio of 19.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $118.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $121.51.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $8.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.51 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.98% and a net margin of 15.76%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.62 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.98%.

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.