First Trust Advisors LP Purchases 118,419 Shares of Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 13.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 991,864 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 118,419 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 0.13% of Duke Energy worth $122,743,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pflug Koory LLC raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Pflug Koory LLC now owns 2,694 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $333,000 after buying an additional 79 shares in 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 boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 5,048 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $625,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. EWA LLC increased its stake 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, Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Duke Energy by 4.6% in the third quarter. Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,854 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $229,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy

In other news, CEO Louis E. Renjel sold 6,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,809,633.69. This represents a 23.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed 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 on 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 3,896 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $498,142.56. This trade 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 currently owned by corporate insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Duke Energy

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)

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on DUK shares. Evercore reaffirmed an “in-line” rating and set a $139.00 price objective on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Duke Energy from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Duke Energy from $136.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on Duke Energy from $135.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $136.87.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

NYSE DUK opened at $132.53 on Monday. Duke Energy Corporation has a 1-year low of $111.22 and a 1-year high of $132.65. The company has a 50 day moving average of $122.58 and a 200-day moving average of $122.36. 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 firm has a market cap of $103.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.97, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.50.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $7.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.57 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.66% and a net margin of 15.41%.During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.66 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be paid a $1.065 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 13th. This represents a $4.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is currently 67.41%.

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.