Nykredit A S Invests $17.11 Million in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Key Points

• Nykredit A/S initiated a $17.11 million Duke Energy stake, purchasing 135,138 shares in the second quarter. Institutional investors collectively own 65.31% of the utility’s stock.
• Analysts maintain a generally favorable view, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $137.56. Duke recently beat quarterly EPS estimates and reported 1.1% year-over-year revenue growth.
• Duke increased its quarterly dividend to $1.085 per share, equivalent to a $4.34 annualized payout and a 3.7% yield, while regulatory setbacks and legal liabilities remain potential risks.

Nykredit A S bought a new stake in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 135,138 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $17,106,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Corient Private Wealth LP increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 303,446 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $38,410,000 after acquiring an additional 6,893 shares during the period. HORAN Wealth LLC grew its position in Duke Energy by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. HORAN Wealth LLC now owns 7,531 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $953,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares during the last quarter. Schulz Wealth LTD. purchased a new position in Duke Energy during the 2nd quarter worth $317,000. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the second quarter valued at $88,657,000. Finally, Washington Trust Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 8.3% in the second quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 2,121 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $268,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on DUK. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Friday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Duke Energy from $134.00 to $132.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Mizuho set a $136.00 price objective on Duke Energy in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $136.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their target price on Duke Energy from $138.00 to $135.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 17th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $137.56.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:DUK opened at $117.44 on Friday. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $123.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $125.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. The stock has a market cap of $91.57 billion, a PE ratio of 17.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.37. Duke Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $113.89 and a fifty-two week high of $134.49.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (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 analysts' expectations of $7.66 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.78% and a return on equity of 9.78%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.25 earnings per share. 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 was paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th were given a dividend of $1.085 per share. The ex-dividend date was 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 3.7%. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.17%.

Trending Headlines about Duke Energy

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

• Positive Sentiment: Strong electricity demand highlights system growth: Unusually hot September weather has driven elevated power usage across North and South Carolina. Duke asked customers to voluntarily reduce consumption during the peak 2–8 p.m. period, underscoring demand for its electricity and the importance of grid reliability. Duke Energy asks Carolinas customers to reduce electricity use during today's peak-demand period
• Positive Sentiment: Storm response recognized: The Edison Electric Institute honored Duke for restoring service to nearly 200,000 customers after Winter Storm Fern, supporting the company’s reputation for operational execution and customer service. EEI recognizes Duke Energy for outstanding response to Winter Storm Fern
• Neutral Sentiment: Outage recovery continues: Most of Greensboro’s power had been restored by Friday evening after outages, limiting the potential for a prolonged customer-impact issue but highlighting ongoing reliability and weather-related operating risks. The majority of Greensboro's power has been restored
• Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley lowered its price target: The firm cut its target for Duke from $133 to $127 and maintained an “equal weight” rating. While the revised target still implies upside, the reduction signals more limited near-term appreciation potential and was likely the clearest market-specific catalyst.
• Negative Sentiment: North Carolina rejected a $584 million gas-turbine proposal: State regulators denied Duke’s plan for generation near an Amazon data center. The decision could delay capacity additions, weaken expected data-center growth opportunities, and complicate recovery of investment costs from customers. NC regulators deny Duke Energy's gas turbine proposal
• Negative Sentiment: Legal and regulatory liabilities remain concerns: Duke dropped its challenge to a workplace-safety fine tied to a lineman’s electrocution death, while a separate lawsuit alleges negligence in a power-line death. Potential penalties, litigation costs, and reputational damage are modest but unfavorable overhangs.

Duke Energy Company Profile

Duke Energy Corporation is an electric and natural gas utility holding company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company generates, transmits, distributes and sells electricity, with a generation portfolio that includes natural gas, nuclear, coal, hydroelectric and renewable energy resources. It also operates natural gas distribution businesses and provides related energy services.

Duke Energy's regulated electric utilities serve residential, commercial and industrial customers across the Carolinas, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky.

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.