Duke Energy Corporation $DUK Shares Acquired by Aptus Capital Advisors LLC

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 7.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 206,891 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,882 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $25,603,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of DUK. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in Duke Energy by 11.6% in 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 grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 19.6% in 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. raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 1.0% in 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 in the last quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 18.6% during the second quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 6,406 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $756,000 after buying an additional 1,003 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC grew its position in Duke Energy by 74.7% in the second quarter. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC now owns 1,342 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $158,000 after buying an additional 574 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Duke Energy Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $131.68 on Friday. Duke Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $111.22 and a 1 year high of $132.65. The company has a market cap of $102.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.50. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average price of $122.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $122.31.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.01. The company 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 quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.66 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on DUK shares. Barclays cut their price objective on Duke Energy from $135.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Morgan Stanley set a $139.00 target price on Duke Energy in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Mizuho set a $130.00 price target on Duke Energy in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. UBS Group dropped their price target 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $141.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Nine 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 MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $136.87.

Key Stories Impacting Duke Energy

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

• Positive Sentiment: Evercore reaffirmed an “in-line” rating and set a $139 price target (about mid-single-digit upside vs. current levels), supporting the view that analysts see limited but tangible upside from here. Finviz: Evercore reaffirmation
• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo raised its price target to $135 and kept an “equal weight” stance, another analyst move that narrows the gap between consensus targets and the stock’s current level. Benzinga: Wells Fargo price target raise
• Positive Sentiment: DUK hit a new 52‑week high after an analyst upgrade, reflecting momentum from recent upgrades and the stock’s strong YTD performance. AmericanBankingNews: 52-Week High After Upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Market commentary highlights Duke as a beneficiary of sector rotation into defensive, dividend‑paying utilities; analysts and investors cite stable cash flows, dividend yield and exposure to gas/nuclear as reasons for continued interest. MarketBeat: 3 Blue-Chip Stocks Built for a Rotating Market
• Positive Sentiment: Operational reliability is improving: Duke reports multi‑decade lows in average outage duration after grid upgrades, and Duke Energy Florida highlighted record‑low outage times—both points that support regulatory credibility and lower storm‑related costs. Yahoo: Lowest power outage times after grid upgrades Yahoo Finance: Duke Energy Florida record-low outage time
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks and other trending stock notes point to increased investor attention on DUK (search/traffic can amplify moves short‑term) but offer no new fundamental catalyst beyond existing analyst and operational news. Zacks: Trending Stock Note
• Neutral Sentiment: Smaller operational items—helicopter tree trimming in the Wabash Valley and AI tools to detect customer scams—underscore ongoing distribution maintenance and cost‑control/anti‑fraud initiatives, which are supportive long term but unlikely to move the stock materially on their own. WTHI: Tree trimming by helicopter Daily Energy Insider: AI to detect scams

Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy

In other Duke Energy news, CEO Louis E. Renjel sold 6,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.67, for a total value of $868,156.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer 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 SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Regis T. Repko sold 962 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was 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 directly owned 3,896 shares in the company, valued at approximately $498,142.56. The trade was a 19.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Company 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.