First Trust Advisors LP Reduces Position in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

First Trust Advisors LP decreased its holdings in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 26.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 768,677 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 283,264 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.10% of Duke Energy worth $100,651,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Marin Bay Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Duke Energy by 50.8% during the 1st quarter. Marin Bay Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,754 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $361,000 after buying an additional 928 shares during the last quarter. Magellan Asset Management Ltd lifted its position in Duke Energy by 19.7% in the first quarter. Magellan Asset Management Ltd now owns 402,505 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $52,704,000 after purchasing an additional 66,226 shares during the period. CacheTech Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 99.2% in the 1st quarter. CacheTech Inc. now owns 5,931 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $777,000 after buying an additional 2,954 shares during the period. ABN Amro Investment Solutions boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 13.9% in the first quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions now owns 36,469 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $4,775,000 after buying an additional 4,463 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Andra AP fonden acquired a new position in Duke Energy during the first quarter worth $4,098,000. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on DUK. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Monday, May 4th. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $139.00 to $135.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $136.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Capitol Sec Mgt lowered Duke Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $137.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $138.62.

Trending Headlines about Duke Energy

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

• Positive Sentiment: KeyCorp reiterated an Overweight rating on Duke Energy and raised its longer-term earnings outlook, nudging up FY2027, FY2028, and FY2029 EPS estimates. The firm also kept a $139 price target, suggesting confidence in Duke’s earnings growth trajectory.
• Positive Sentiment: Duke Energy unveiled its Customer Protection Plus framework, designed to support rapid data center-driven power demand while aiming to deliver billions in customer savings. Investors may view this as a constructive way to monetize infrastructure growth without triggering excessive pushback from customers. Duke Energy (DUK) Unveils Customer Savings Plan To Back Data Center Growth
• Positive Sentiment: The company also announced a higher quarterly dividend, reinforcing Duke Energy’s appeal as an income stock and helping attract dividend-focused investors. Can Duke Energy (DUK) Justify Its Price As Its Higher Dividend Draws Attention?
• Neutral Sentiment: North Carolina leaders and regulators are pressuring Duke Energy to make its federal data-center pledge legally binding. This could support accountability and customer trust, but it also raises regulatory scrutiny around future growth plans.
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory criticism of Duke’s proposed rate increases remains a headwind, with North Carolina’s attorney general saying the lowered request is still too high. That could add pressure to future profitability if rate approvals become more difficult.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Louis E. Renjel sold 3,500 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.15, for a total value of $438,025.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 21,415 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,680,087.25. The trade was a 14.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Harry K. Sideris sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.37, for a total transaction of $2,487,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 96,102 shares in the company, valued at $11,952,205.74. The trade was a 17.23% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Duke Energy Price Performance

DUK stock opened at $130.54 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $101.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45. Duke Energy Corporation has a 52-week low of $113.89 and a 52-week high of $134.49. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $125.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $125.79.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.06. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.73% and a net margin of 15.49%.The company had revenue of $9.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.76 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.72 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.085 per share. This represents a $4.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This is a positive change from Duke Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $1.06. Duke Energy's payout ratio is currently 66.46%.

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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