Duke Energy Corporation $DUK Shares Purchased by Sarasin & Partners LLP

Key Points

• Sarasin & Partners increased its Duke Energy stake by 15.3% in the second quarter, acquiring 170,700 additional shares and bringing its holdings to 1.28 million shares valued at approximately $162.4 million.
• Duke Energy reported adjusted quarterly earnings of $1.43 per share, beating the $1.30 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 1.1% year over year to $7.59 billion. The company reaffirmed its 2026 EPS guidance of $6.55–$6.80.
• Analysts give Duke Energy a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $138.44, while the company raised its quarterly dividend to $1.085 per share, representing an annualized yield of about 3.5%.

Sarasin & Partners LLP grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 15.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,283,213 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 170,700 shares during the period. Duke Energy comprises about 1.9% of Sarasin & Partners LLP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Sarasin & Partners LLP owned approximately 0.16% of Duke Energy worth $162,429,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of DUK. Bill Few Associates Inc. grew its stake in Duke Energy by 9.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc. now owns 5,657 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $716,000 after purchasing an additional 510 shares in the last quarter. Foster Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 11.3% in the 2nd quarter. Foster Group Inc. now owns 3,951 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $500,000 after purchasing an additional 401 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 56,612 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $7,166,000 after buying an additional 2,166 shares during the last quarter. Graves Light Lenhart Wealth Inc. grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 4.9% during the second quarter. Graves Light Lenhart Wealth Inc. now owns 17,181 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,175,000 after buying an additional 796 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 7.6% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 25,658 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,248,000 after acquiring an additional 1,802 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Louis E. Renjel sold 3,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.15, for a total transaction of $438,025.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 21,415 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,680,087.25. The trade was a 14.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DUK has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $140.00 to $132.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $136.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Mizuho set a $136.00 price objective on Duke Energy in a report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Duke Energy from $143.00 to $138.00 in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on Duke Energy from $137.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $138.44.

Key Stories Impacting Duke Energy

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

• Positive Sentiment: Strong Q2 results: Duke reported adjusted earnings of $1.43 per share, ahead of the $1.30 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 1.1% year over year to $7.59 billion. The company reaffirmed its 2026 EPS guidance of $6.55-$6.80 and its target for 5%-7% annual EPS growth through 2030. Duke Energy Q2 earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Large-load growth opportunity: Duke said contracted data-center and industrial demand could create $5 billion-$10 billion of additional capital investment, with new loads expected to begin taking power in late 2027. Its data-center pipeline has increased by 2.7 gigawatts since late 2025, potentially supporting regulated rate-base growth and long-term earnings. Duke Energy data-center pipeline
• Positive Sentiment: Lower-cost North Carolina rate plan: Duke Energy Progress reached a stakeholder agreement that cuts the proposed rate increase by more than half while preserving infrastructure investment. Duke will also provide an additional $10 million for customers in need, reducing near-term regulatory friction. Duke Energy Progress rate agreement
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst targets remain above the market price: Barclays and BMO lowered their price targets to $132 but retained bullish ratings of “overweight” and “outperform,” respectively, implying roughly 7% upside based on the cited price.
• Neutral Sentiment: Hotter-than-normal summer weather in Florida is boosting electricity demand and could support near-term utility sales, although higher usage also increases customer bills and system strain. Duke Energy Florida summer demand
• Negative Sentiment: Equity issuance and execution risk: Duke plans to issue up to $10 billion in equity to fund more than $1 billion per month of investment in generation and infrastructure. The financing could dilute existing shareholders and raises questions about capital requirements and returns.
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory and legal pushback: North Carolina advocates argue Duke has overstated demand projections, while the governor supports a challenge to a proposed rate hike. Separate legal opposition targets Duke and Amazon’s plans to use diesel generation for a North Carolina data center, creating uncertainty around project timing and costs.
• Negative Sentiment: Recent outages affecting thousands of customers in North Carolina are operational blemishes, though their limited duration makes a material financial impact unlikely.

Duke Energy Price Performance

DUK opened at $123.73 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. The company's 50-day moving average price is $125.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $126.39. Duke Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $113.89 and a fifty-two week high of $134.49. The firm has a market cap of $96.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.38.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $7.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.66 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.78% and a net margin of 15.78%.Duke Energy's quarterly revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.25 earnings per share. Duke Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.550-6.800 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a $1.085 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This is a positive change from Duke Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $1.06. This represents a $4.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.96%.

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.

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