Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC Increases Stock Position in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Key Points

• Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) by 37.5% in Q4, buying 9,487 shares to own 34,779 shares worth about $4.08 million at quarter-end.
• Company insiders trimmed positions: SVP Regis T. Repko sold 962 shares at $127.86 and CEO Louis E. Renjel sold 6,800 shares at $127.67, leaving insiders owning roughly 0.12% of the stock.
• Several analysts lifted price targets (e.g., Jefferies to $141, Scotiabank to $146, Evercore $139), but the consensus rating remains a "Hold" with an average price target of $138.87.

Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 37.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 34,779 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 9,487 shares during the quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Duke Energy were worth $4,076,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dorato Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Wiser Advisor Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Bare Financial Services Inc raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 211.1% in the 3rd quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 280 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Duke Energy

In other Duke Energy news, SVP Regis T. Repko sold 962 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.86, for a total value of $123,001.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 3,896 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $498,142.56. The trade was a 19.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Louis E. Renjel sold 6,800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.67, for a total transaction of $868,156.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 22,007 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,809,633.69. The trade was a 23.61% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on DUK shares. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $125.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $137.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Evercore reaffirmed an "in-line" rating and issued a $139.00 price target on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on Duke Energy from $143.00 to $140.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $138.87.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DUK opened at $133.07 on Friday. Duke Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $111.22 and a fifty-two week high of $134.49. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $128.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $123.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.55. The firm has a market cap of $103.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.05 and a beta of 0.46.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.01. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.66% and a net margin of 15.41%.The business had revenue of $7.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.66 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Regulatory approvals and local tax deal clear path for a large new gas-fired plant in the Southeast, reducing execution and permitting risk for Duke’s capacity expansion. Read More. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: An analyst raised Duke’s price target and kept an Overweight rating as the utilities outlook improved, supporting near-term upside sentiment. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Barclays published a bullish forecast for DUK, indicating consensus buy-side momentum and helping drive constructive fund flows. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Duke’s long track record of dividend payments (100+ years highlighted) and inclusion on high-dividend/low-volatility lists supports its defensive, income-oriented appeal to investors. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Company plans for large-scale grid modernization (multi-decade, multi-hundred‑billion dollar framework) and investments in self‑healing/storm-hardening technology reinforce long-term reliability and regulated-capex growth narratives. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Operational PR items (storm-season readiness and public safety reminders) underscore reliability messaging but are unlikely to move the stock materially. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyses point to mixed fair-value estimates and modest recent outperformance YTD, leaving the stock’s valuation debate active among investors. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Peer headlines (PPL lagging and Alliant benefiting from growth & data center demand) provide industry context that could alter relative flows into DUK but do not directly change Duke’s fundamentals. Read More. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Customer pushback and local opposition to a proposed ~15% Duke Carolinas rate hike represent regulatory and political risk that could limit near‑term margin/cash‑flow improvements if regulators require concessions. Read More.

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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