First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. Sells 27,733 Shares of Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Key Points

• First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. reduced its Duke Energy stake by 16.2%, selling 27,733 shares and retaining 143,815 shares valued at approximately $16.4 million. Institutional investors collectively own 65.31% of the company.
• Duke Energy shares opened at $118.23, below the analyst consensus target of $133.38. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus, although several firms recently lowered their price targets.
• The company reported quarterly EPS of $1.43, exceeding estimates, and declared a quarterly dividend of $1.085 per share, equivalent to a 3.7% annualized yield.

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. lessened its holdings in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 16.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 143,815 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 27,733 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.'s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $16,396,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Focus Financial Network Inc. boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 1.3% in the third quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 12,727 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,451,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the period. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. increased its stake in Duke Energy by 3.8% in the third quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 33,274 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,794,000 after purchasing an additional 1,224 shares during the last quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 24.3% in the 3rd quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 40,979 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $4,672,000 after buying an additional 8,001 shares during the last quarter. Krilogy Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 162.9% during the third quarter. Krilogy Financial LLC now owns 6,460 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $760,000 after purchasing an additional 4,003 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Affinity Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Duke Energy by 104.2% during the third quarter. Affinity Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,065 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $474,000 after buying an additional 2,074 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Key Duke Energy News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts tracked by American Banking News assign Duke Energy an average price target of $133.38, implying meaningful potential appreciation from recent trading levels. Duke Energy Corporation Stock Has Average Price Target of $133.38
• Positive Sentiment: FERC approved Duke Energy’s proposed rules for serving large electricity loads. The decision could help the utility manage demand from data centers and other major customers, though concerns remain about how costs will be allocated. FERC Approves Duke Large Load Transmission Rules
• Positive Sentiment: Duke Energy Florida introduced a program offering EV customers a $7.50 monthly credit for charging during off-peak periods. The initiative could improve load management and support electricity demand growth, although the direct financial impact is likely modest. Duke Energy Florida EV Charging Credit Program
• Positive Sentiment: Recent storm-response coverage highlighted restoration for roughly 10,000 customers and Duke’s planned $103 billion grid-investment program, reinforcing the company’s reliability and infrastructure-growth narrative. Duke Energy Grid Investments and Storm Resilience
• Neutral Sentiment: Duke Energy Foundation grants for South Carolina and Upstate communities enhance its local reputation but are unlikely to materially affect earnings. Duke Energy Foundation South Carolina Grants
• Negative Sentiment: KeyBanc lowered its price target from $139 to $128, and JPMorgan cut its target from $137 to $130 while maintaining a neutral rating. The revisions signal more limited near-term upside, despite both targets remaining above the current share price.
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that North Carolina customers blamed Duke for appliance damage after a power surge could create reputational and potential claims-related risk, although the financial exposure is not yet clear. North Carolina Power Surge Claims

Duke Energy Stock Performance

NYSE DUK opened at $118.23 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. Duke Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $112.40 and a fifty-two week high of $134.49. The business has a fifty day moving average of $119.19 and a 200-day moving average of $123.95. The stock has a market cap of $92.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.36.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $7.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.66 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.78% and a net margin of 15.78%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.25 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 13th will be paid a dividend of $1.0850 per share. This represents a $4.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 13th. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on DUK. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $135.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating and set a $121.00 price objective on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $133.00 to $127.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 18th. 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $133.38.

Duke Energy Company Profile

Duke Energy Corporation NYSE: DUK is an energy holding company that operates regulated electric and natural gas utilities in the United States. Its electric utilities generate, transmit, distribute and sell electricity to residential, commercial, industrial and other customers.

The company serves customers across the Carolinas, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky. Duke Energy also operates natural gas utilities and related infrastructure in several states, including North Carolina, South Carolina, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding DUK? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.