Duke Energy Corporation $DUK Shares Sold by Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS

Key Points

• Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Employees’ Retirement System cut its Duke Energy stake by 10.2% in the second quarter, selling 140,128 shares and retaining 1.24 million shares valued at approximately $157 million. Institutional investors collectively own 65.31% of DUK.
• Duke Energy reported quarterly EPS of $1.43, beating estimates of $1.30, while revenue rose 1.1% year over year to $7.59 billion but fell slightly short of forecasts.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $1.085 per share, or $4.34 annually, representing a 3.5% yield. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $138.44, despite regulatory opposition to a proposed North Carolina rate increase and potential shareholder dilution from a 40-million-unit equity sale.

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS reduced its position in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 10.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,240,257 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 140,128 shares during the period. Duke Energy makes up approximately 0.8% of Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS's portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS owned about 0.16% of Duke Energy worth $156,992,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 5,254.4% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,735,816 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $358,227,000 after buying an additional 2,684,721 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 78,258,757 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $9,172,709,000 after buying an additional 1,957,592 shares in the last quarter. Amundi grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 56.9% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,662,460 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $312,067,000 after acquiring an additional 965,808 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Duke Energy by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,236,893 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $965,446,000 after acquiring an additional 954,907 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Milford Funds Ltd. purchased a new position in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth $97,905,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Duke Energy

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

• Positive Sentiment: Utilities could benefit from rising electricity demand tied to the rapid expansion of artificial-intelligence data centers. The trend supports Duke Energy’s long-term generation and grid-investment opportunity, although the referenced article focuses on utility ETFs rather than DUK specifically. Utility ETFs to Buy as Rapid AI Buildout Sparks Energy Crisis
• Positive Sentiment: Duke Energy has restored most power after severe storms in Greater Cincinnati, with nearly 223,000 outages addressed and crews working to restore the remaining customers. Faster restoration limits prolonged service disruption and reputational damage. Duke Energy restores 85% of Greater Cincinnati outages
• Neutral Sentiment: The Duke Energy Foundation announced $500,000 for North Carolina small-business programs and emergency grants for storm recovery in Ohio and Kentucky. The initiatives may support community relations but are not financially material to DUK. Duke Energy invests $500,000 to help small businesses
• Negative Sentiment: Duke Energy completed the sale of 40 million equity units. The financing provides capital for infrastructure and growth, but the additional equity can dilute existing shareholders and signals substantial funding needs. Duke Energy Completes Major Equity Units Financing Offering
• Negative Sentiment: North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson is challenging a proposed 6.8% residential rate increase and rejecting the related settlement. Regulatory opposition raises uncertainty over Duke’s ability to recover costs and earn its targeted returns. AG Jeff Jackson rejects Duke Energy settlement
• Negative Sentiment: A proposed Duke Energy plant is drawing opposition in Davie and Davidson counties, creating potential permitting, construction and political obstacles. More than 2,000 customers also remained without power during severe storms, highlighting near-term reliability and restoration costs. Duke Energy plant proposal draws opposition

Duke Energy Stock Down 0.5%

DUK stock opened at $123.83 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.43. Duke Energy Corporation has a 12 month low of $113.89 and a 12 month high of $134.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $96.55 billion, a PE ratio of 18.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.38. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $125.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $126.53.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $7.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.25 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DUK has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $137.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $137.00 to $135.00 in a report on Monday, May 11th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $135.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Duke Energy from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $139.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $134.00 to $132.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $138.44.

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.

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