Choreo LLC Increases Stock Position in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Choreo LLC increased its holdings in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 12.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 48,572 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,479 shares during the period. Choreo LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $6,011,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Duke Energy by 0.8% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 76,301,165 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,442,269,000 after purchasing an additional 584,382 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 1.7% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,684,447 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,205,070,000 after buying an additional 319,001 shares during the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 11,417.7% in the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 17,668,789 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,084,917,000 after buying an additional 17,515,383 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,691,150 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,025,244,000 after buying an additional 34,906 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 6,338,489 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $747,942,000 after acquiring an additional 216,541 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on DUK. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $125.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price 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. Morgan Stanley set a $139.00 target price on Duke Energy in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $137.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus 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.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DUK opened at $130.79 on Friday. Duke Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $111.22 and a twelve month high of $131.57. 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 company has a market cap of $101.71 billion, a PE ratio of 20.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.51. The company’s 50 day moving average is $121.10 and its 200 day moving average is $122.10.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 9th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.01. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.41% and a return on equity of 9.66%. The business had revenue of $7.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.66 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Duke Energy

In other news, 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 22,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,809,633.69. This trade represents a 23.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Regis T. Repko sold 962 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 3,896 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $498,142.56. This represents a 19.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.14% of the stock is 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.