Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC Acquires 19,234 Shares of Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Key Points

• Laurel Wealth Advisors increased its Duke Energy position by 11.8% in the third quarter, adding 19,234 shares for a total of 182,814 shares valued at approximately $20.8 million.
• Duke Energy is owned by a broad institutional base, with institutional investors and hedge funds holding 65.31% of outstanding shares.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $132.19; the company also declared a quarterly dividend of $1.085 per share, representing a 3.5% annualized yield.

Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 11.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 182,814 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 19,234 shares during the quarter. Duke Energy makes up approximately 1.9% of Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Duke Energy were worth $20,843,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 15.0% in the third quarter. Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 2,932 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $334,000 after acquiring an additional 382 shares in the last quarter. William Mack & Associates Inc. bought a new position in Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $131,000. Victory Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 12.8% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Financial Group LLC now owns 3,507 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $400,000 after acquiring an additional 399 shares during the last quarter. Busey Bank grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 17.6% during the 3rd quarter. Busey Bank now owns 5,878 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $670,000 after acquiring an additional 879 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 390,695 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $44,543,000 after acquiring an additional 12,429 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on DUK. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $127.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $134.00 to $132.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $121.00 price target on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Monday, October 12th. Scotiabank decreased their price target on Duke Energy from $146.00 to $131.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 30th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered their price objective on Duke Energy from $139.00 to $128.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $132.19.

Key Headlines Impacting Duke Energy

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

• Positive Sentiment: Duke Energy’s “energy vampire” campaign in Florida highlights ways customers can reduce electricity waste and bills. The initiative could strengthen customer engagement and support the company’s efficiency and demand-management efforts, although its direct financial impact is likely limited. Why Duke Energy Is Back in the Spotlight
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage of Duke Energy among reliable-income and blue-chip dividend stocks reinforces its appeal to defensive and income-oriented investors. Regulated utility earnings and dividend consistency remain supportive of the stock’s valuation. 5 Utility Stocks Paying Reliable Income Without the Dividend Risk
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts expect Duke Energy’s upcoming third-quarter results to show a single-digit earnings increase, suggesting relatively stable operating momentum ahead of the report. Duke Energy Earnings Preview
• Neutral Sentiment: Power was restored to more than 6,500 customers in Iredell County, reducing the immediate impact of a local outage but underscoring routine reliability and storm-response demands. Power Restored for Duke Energy Customers
• Negative Sentiment: Approximately 10,000 customers in Troutman and Iredell County temporarily lost power. Although restoration efforts were underway, outages can create short-term service costs and reputational pressure for the utility. Duke Energy Working to Restore Power

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of DUK opened at $123.60 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $96.37 billion, a PE ratio of 18.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.36. The business's fifty day moving average price is $118.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $124.16. 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 $112.40 and a 12-month high of $134.49.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $7.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.66 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.78% and a return on equity of 9.78%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.25 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.72 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 13th will be issued a $1.0850 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 13th. This represents a $4.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Duke Energy's payout ratio is 65.17%.

Duke Energy Profile

Duke Energy Corporation is an energy holding company that provides regulated electric and natural gas utility services in the United States. Its electric utilities generate, transmit, distribute and sell electricity to residential, commercial, industrial and other customers. The company's generation portfolio includes nuclear, natural gas, coal, hydroelectric and renewable energy resources.

Duke Energy serves customers primarily in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky.

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