Duke Energy’s (DUK) “In-Line” Rating Reiterated at Evercore

Evercore reaffirmed their in-line rating on shares of Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning, Marketbeat reports. Evercore currently has a $139.00 price target on the utilities provider’s stock.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on DUK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $136.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $137.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Mizuho set a $130.00 price target on Duke Energy in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $136.87.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $132.53 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $122.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $122.38. 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 capitalization of $103.06 billion, a PE ratio of 20.97, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.50. Duke Energy has a 12 month low of $111.22 and a 12 month high of $132.65.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 the consensus estimate of $7.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.66 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Duke Energy will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $1.065 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 13th. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy

In other Duke Energy news, CEO Louis E. Renjel sold 6,800 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.67, for a total value of $868,156.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 22,007 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,809,633.69. The trade was a 23.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Regis T. Repko sold 962 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.86, for a total value 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 $498,142.56. The trade was a 19.80% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in Duke Energy by 11.6% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,754 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $728,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 19.6% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 23,162 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,825,000 after purchasing an additional 3,797 shares during the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 31,238 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,686,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares during the last quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 18.6% in the 2nd quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 6,406 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $756,000 after purchasing an additional 1,003 shares during the period. Finally, Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 74.7% during the second quarter. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC now owns 1,342 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $158,000 after purchasing an additional 574 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Duke Energy News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Brookfield completed a minority investment in Duke Energy Florida (9.2%), signaling outside capital for Florida infrastructure growth and a potential de‑risking/partnering path for regional expansion. Brookfield Stake Reshapes Duke Energy Florida Growth And Investor Outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Duke Energy Florida reported its lowest average outage times in over 20 years — an operational win that supports reliability narratives and lowers regulatory/PR risk. Duke Energy Florida achieves lowest average outage times in more than 20 years
• Positive Sentiment: Market commentary on sector rotation spots Duke among blue‑chip defensive names that could attract flows as investors rotate out of expensive tech; Duke’s dividend history and “all of the above” generation mix are cited as catalysts. 3 Blue-Chip Stocks Built for a Rotating Market
• Positive Sentiment: Recent analyst upgrades / favorable coverage have pushed DUK toward a 52‑week high earlier this week, supporting momentum and investor sentiment around near‑term upside. Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) Hits New 52-Week High After Analyst Upgrade
• Neutral Sentiment: Duke published guidance and customer‑facing information explaining higher winter bills and outlining payment/assistance options — important for customer relations and potential regulatory scrutiny but not an immediate earnings surprise. Understanding higher energy bills this winter – and how Duke Energy can help
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro pieces highlighting falling interest rates as a potential tailwind for rate‑sensitive utilities could support multiple expansion for Duke if the rate outlook continues to shift. Interest Rates Are Heading Down — These 3 Stocks Win Big When They Do
• Negative Sentiment: Evercore ISI issued a downgrade/negative note on Duke (coverage reported), which can cap near‑term upside and adds analyst skepticism despite other favorable coverage; that pressure likely explains some intraday volatility. Evercore ISI Group downgrades Duke Energy (DUK)

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.