VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Buys Shares of 700,405 Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Key Points

• Virginia Retirement Systems bought 700,405 Duke Energy shares worth approximately $88.7 million, while institutional investors collectively own 65.31% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus, with 10 Buy and 8 Hold ratings and an average price target of $137.94, above the reported $120.11 share price.
• Duke Energy beat second-quarter earnings expectations with EPS of $1.43, and increased its quarterly dividend to $1.085, representing a 3.6% annualized yield; however, revenue slightly missed forecasts and a proposed Florida rate cut could pressure future results.

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new position in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 700,405 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $88,657,000. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al owned 0.09% of Duke Energy as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of DUK. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in Duke Energy by 12,624.6% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 114,736,922 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $14,523,400,000 after acquiring an additional 113,835,227 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,292,633 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,266,675,000 after purchasing an additional 230,375 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,931,127 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,046,818,000 after purchasing an additional 58,375 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,236,893 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $965,446,000 after purchasing an additional 954,907 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 0.4% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,758,700 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $960,139,000 after purchasing an additional 31,703 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DUK has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $136.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Evercore boosted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $139.00 to $140.00 in a report on Monday, May 11th. Barclays cut their price objective on Duke Energy from $140.00 to $132.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. KeyCorp raised Duke Energy from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $139.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $137.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $137.94.

More Duke Energy News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Duke Energy Florida requested lower customer rates beginning in January 2027. The filing could reduce revenue, but it may ease regulatory and political pressure related to high bills. Duke Energy Florida requests to lower rates in 2027
• Positive Sentiment: Duke’s regulated-utility model and decades of dividend increases continue to support its appeal as a defensive income investment, particularly during economic downturns. 3 Utility Dividend Stocks Built to Keep Paying in Any Economy
• Positive Sentiment: Duke upgraded its Trenton battery facility to provide backup power, supporting grid reliability and potentially strengthening the company’s long-term infrastructure strategy. Duke Energy upgrades Trenton battery facility
• Neutral Sentiment: Second-quarter earnings beat expectations at $1.43 per share, although revenue was slightly below forecasts and interest expense increased. Analysts have subsequently lowered estimates, limiting the benefit of the earnings surprise. How Duke’s Q2 2026 Earnings Beat
• Negative Sentiment: The proposed Florida rate reduction could pressure near-term revenue and earnings if approved, even as it benefits customers. Duke Energy's Florida Utility Requests Rate Cut for 2027
• Negative Sentiment: Recent outages in North Carolina, including an incident attributed to a helicopter damaging lines, may create repair costs and renewed scrutiny of service reliability. Duke Energy said helicopter caused Cary outages

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DUK opened at $120.11 on Monday. Duke Energy Corporation has a 1-year low of $113.89 and a 1-year high of $134.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.65 billion, a PE ratio of 18.03, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.37. The business's 50 day moving average is $124.76 and its 200-day moving average is $126.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 during 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%.Duke Energy's revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.25 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a $1.085 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $4.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. This is a positive change from Duke Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $1.06. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 65.17%.

Duke Energy 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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