Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. Buys 4,588 Shares of Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. lifted its position in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 67.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,382 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,588 shares during the quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,408,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 76,301,165 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,442,269,000 after acquiring an additional 584,382 shares during the period. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings 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 valued at $2,084,917,000 after purchasing an additional 17,515,383 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in 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 valued at $1,025,244,000 after purchasing an additional 34,906 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 4.1% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,281,986 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $901,146,000 after purchasing an additional 288,499 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in Duke Energy by 3.5% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 6,338,489 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $747,942,000 after buying an additional 216,541 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

In other Duke Energy news, CEO Louis E. Renjel sold 6,800 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 22,007 shares in the company, valued at $2,809,633.69. The trade was 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 available at this link. Also, SVP Regis T. Repko sold 962 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.86, for a total value of $123,001.32. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.3%

DUK stock opened at $133.54 on Tuesday. Duke Energy Corporation has a 52 week low of $111.22 and a 52 week high of $134.27. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $124.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $122.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. The company has a market cap of $103.85 billion, a PE ratio of 21.13 and a beta of 0.50.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 9th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $7.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.57 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.41% and a return on equity of 9.66%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.66 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 company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th were paid a $1.065 dividend. This represents a $4.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 13th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.41%.

Duke Energy News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Settlement reached to combine Duke Energy Carolinas and Duke Energy Progress operations in South Carolina — the deal is pitched to deliver customer savings and operational efficiencies, which could boost regulated earnings if approved by state regulators. Duke Energy Carolinas Deal Tests Regulatory Support For Efficiency And Growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Flowserve board appointment item included in feeds but is unrelated to Duke Energy operations or near-term fundamentals. Flowserve Appoints Brian Savoy to Board of Directors
• Neutral Sentiment: Duke issued multiple advisories urging customers in the Carolinas to prepare for damaging high winds and possible tornadic activity — this is a preparedness effort that helps limit safety issues and reputational risk but does not itself indicate damage. Duke Energy urges customers to prepare for damaging high winds and possible tornadic activities across the Carolinas
• Negative Sentiment: Active outages: Duke has called in extra crews to respond to power outages in Bartholomew County — this indicates on-the-ground restoration costs and short-term service disruptions. Duke Energy calls in extra help for power outages in Bartholomew County
• Negative Sentiment: Severe-weather impacts in Charlotte and across the Carolinas — on-camera updates and local reports show outages and restoration activity, underscoring potential repair and vegetation-management costs. Duke Energy updates power outages in Charlotte after severe weather
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple local outlets (WRAL, MSN, CBS17) highlight preparations for wind damage and tornado risk — elevated outage risk this week could pressure near-term operations and increase O&M spending. Duke Energy preparing for power outages, wind damage

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective 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. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Scotiabank increased their price target on Duke Energy from $137.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Duke Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, March 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $137.80.

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.