Bank of Montreal Can Decreases Position in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Bank of Montreal Can trimmed its position in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 96.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,220,536 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 32,446,843 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can owned about 0.16% of Duke Energy worth $151,041,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in 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 worth $2,084,917,000 after purchasing an additional 17,515,383 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 1.5% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,716,783 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,934,580,000 after buying an additional 1,154,783 shares during the last quarter. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the third quarter worth about $86,309,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake 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 worth $102,254,000 after buying an additional 675,768 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp boosted its position in 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 last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DUK has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $135.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Wall Street Zen cut Duke Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Duke Energy from $141.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Duke Energy from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $137.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Louis E. Renjel sold 6,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.67, for a total value 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. The trade was a 23.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Regis T. Repko sold 962 shares of the 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 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 position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Duke Energy Trading Down 1.1%

NYSE DUK opened at $129.68 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $100.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.52, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.50. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $123.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $122.45. Duke Energy Corporation has a 12 month low of $111.22 and a 12 month high of $132.65.

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

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company 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 of this dividend is Friday, February 13th. This represents a $4.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is presently 67.41%.

Duke Energy News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Reached settlement agreements with North Carolina and South Carolina customer advocates and the NC Attorney General on the proposed combination of Duke Energy Carolinas and Duke Energy Progress — settlements promise “measurable, trackable” customer savings and reduce regulatory uncertainty around the merger. PR Newswire — NC settlement
• Positive Sentiment: UBS raised its price target on DUK to $140 (from $136), signaling some analyst confidence in Duke’s earnings and strategic outlook. MarketScreener — UBS price target
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader weakness in energy names: the NYSE Energy Sector Index fell, weighing on utility/energy stocks generally and adding sector headwinds to Duke’s share movement. Yahoo Finance — sector update
• Negative Sentiment: Duke priced an upsized private placement of $1.3B 3.000% convertible senior notes due 2029 — debt/convertible issuance can dilute equity on conversion and raises leverage, which investors often view as a near‑term negative despite low coupon. (The deal started as a $1B proposed offering.) PR Newswire — convertible notes
• Negative Sentiment: Thousands of customers are calling for an audit after a spike in power bills — heightened regulatory scrutiny and customer frustration can lead to political/regulatory costs and reputational risk. MSN — audit demands after bill spike
• Negative Sentiment: Local opposition as Duke plans a gas‑fired plant expansion — neighbors raise air‑pollution and health concerns, which can delay projects and increase permitting/legal costs. Independent Mail — community opposition
• Negative Sentiment: Reliability issues reported in local outages (e.g., Davie County schools delayed due to power outages) — short‑term reliability incidents can amplify regulatory and PR pressure. MSN — outages/school delay
• Negative Sentiment: Local reporting says NC carbon emissions may rise as Duke recommits to fossil fuels — ESG concerns could affect investor sentiment and attract regulatory/activist scrutiny. News & Observer — carbon/emissions story

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.