Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. Has $901,000 Position in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. trimmed its stake in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 99.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,280 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,250,478 shares during the period. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $901,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Simon Quick Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 42.2% during the second quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 7,444 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $878,000 after purchasing an additional 2,210 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 37.7% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 41,642 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,153,000 after buying an additional 11,409 shares during the period. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,046,000. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. raised its stake in Duke Energy by 11.3% during the 3rd quarter. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. now owns 274,630 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,985,000 after buying an additional 27,820 shares during the period. Finally, Alley Investment Management Company LLC lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 13.0% during the third quarter. Alley Investment Management Company LLC now owns 88,018 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,892,000 after acquiring an additional 10,108 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley set a $139.00 target price on Duke Energy in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $135.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $136.00 price objective on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price 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. Finally, 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 note on Friday, January 23rd. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $135.75.

More Duke Energy News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Nuclear/ratings lift: analysts and commentators are highlighting gains in Duke’s nuclear positioning and a positive reframing of its nuclear strategy, which supports capacity reliability and long‑term earnings visibility. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley raised its price target to $139 (maintained Equal Weight), signalling modest analyst upside that can prompt buying. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Policy/revenue angle: Duke’s CEO publicly backed the administration’s push to make data centers “pay their fair share,” which could translate into higher utility revenues from large AI/data workloads over time. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Clean‑energy rollout: company expansion of solar, battery storage, microgrids and virtual power‑plant incentives supports future growth, resilience and regulatory goodwill. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Relative performance context: Duke has slightly underperformed peers recently, but analysts remain moderately optimistic — useful context for positioning but not an immediate catalyst. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Inclusion in dividend/utility stock roundups raises investor interest (income appeal) but is not an immediate earnings driver. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: filings show senior executives (including SVP Regis T. Repko) sold shares recently; recurring insider reductions can spook investors even if sales are small. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Customer/billing issues: Greater Cincinnati customers reported unexpectedly higher bills tied to a recent billing issue (and a $14M error reported elsewhere), raising near‑term regulatory and reputational risk. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory/cost‑recovery change: Duke will replace a ‘gas cost recovery’ charge with a ‘standard service offer’ in at least one territory — could change how fuel costs are passed through and affect short‑term cash flows. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Rising short interest: short interest has increased meaningfully in February, which raises downside pressure and potential volatility around upcoming catalysts. Read More.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Duke Energy news, SVP Regis T. Repko sold 962 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was 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 directly owned 3,896 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $498,142.56. The trade was a 19.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Louis E. Renjel sold 6,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.67, for a total value of $868,156.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Price Performance

DUK stock opened at $130.79 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.55. Duke Energy Corporation has a 52-week low of $111.22 and a 52-week high of $131.57. The company has a market capitalization of $101.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.69, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $121.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $122.10.

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

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders 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 3.3%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.41%.

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.