Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Sells 4,531 Shares of Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. reduced its holdings in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 178,008 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 4,531 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $22,028,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of DUK. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 11,417.7% during 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 in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,716,783 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,934,580,000 after buying an additional 1,154,783 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 448.9% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 826,296 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $102,254,000 after buying an additional 675,768 shares during the period. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 64.4% during the second quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 1,472,321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $173,734,000 after acquiring an additional 576,674 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lifted its position in Duke Energy by 21.1% in the 2nd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 2,726,823 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $321,765,000 after acquiring an additional 474,325 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 research firms have issued reports on DUK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Duke Energy from $136.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 11th. UBS Group cut their target price on Duke Energy from $135.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Duke Energy from $130.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $143.00 price target for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $126.00 to $125.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $134.50.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of DUK stock opened at $121.91 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $94.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $118.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $121.63. Duke Energy Corporation has a one year low of $110.51 and a one year high of $130.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.40.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $8.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.51 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.98% and a net margin of 15.76%.The firm’s revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.62 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th will be paid a $1.065 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 13th. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 66.98%.

Key Duke Energy News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Record winter power demand supports near‑term revenue and highlights resilience in core electric sales, which can help offset margin pressure. Duke Energy experiences record-breaking demand during winter storms
• Positive Sentiment: Duke Energy Foundation is investing $500,000 in North Carolina community colleges to strengthen the energy workforce — a long‑term positive for operations and hiring pipeline. Duke Energy invests $500,000 in North Carolina community colleges to strengthen energy workforce pipeline
• Positive Sentiment: Fortune again named Duke among the world’s most admired companies, which supports reputation and investor confidence around governance and culture. Duke Energy again named by Fortune one of World’s Most Admired Companies™
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts maintain a constructive view (average “Moderate Buy”), which can provide support if earnings meet expectations. Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts
• Neutral Sentiment: Duke is entering negotiations with Clearwater on a possible new service agreement — a routine commercial development that could be revenue‑neutral or accretive depending on terms. Clearwater and Duke Energy begin negotiations on possible new service agreement
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage explaining where bill donations go and charity programs increases transparency and community goodwill but has limited direct stock impact. Where your Duke Energy bill donation goes
• Neutral Sentiment: Previews note Q4 EPS may decline ~9% year‑over‑year despite revenue growth and resilient demand; that mixed outlook makes the upcoming results a key stock catalyst. Duke Energy to Release Q4 Earnings: How to Approach the Stock Now?
• Negative Sentiment: Shares are under pressure as the stock fell while the broader market rose, pointing to sector rotation or investor caution ahead of earnings and regulatory items. Duke Energy (DUK) stock sinks as market gains: What you should know
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory/customer friction: some customers reacted negatively to Duke’s request to conserve energy during Carbon Plan proceedings — potential PR and regulatory risk if public pushback grows. Customers react to Duke’s request to conserve energy during Carbon Plan proceedings
• Negative Sentiment: Weather risk: Duke is preparing for potential power outages from high winds this weekend — outage restoration costs and service disruptions could pressure near‑term results. Duke Energy prepares for potential power outages due to high winds this weekend

Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy

In related news, EVP Robert Alexander Glenn sold 8,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.80, for a total transaction of $1,015,160.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 11,367 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,407,234.60. This trade represents a 41.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

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.