Korea Investment CORP Boosts Stock Position in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Korea Investment CORP raised its stake in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 630,193 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,978 shares during the quarter. Korea Investment CORP owned 0.08% of Duke Energy worth $77,986,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 11.6% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,754 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $728,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 19.6% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 23,162 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,825,000 after acquiring an additional 3,797 shares during the period. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1.0% during the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 31,238 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,686,000 after acquiring an additional 315 shares during the period. Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 92.6% during the second quarter. Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC now owns 3,711 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $438,000 after purchasing an additional 1,784 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wedbush Securities Inc. lifted its position in Duke Energy by 10.3% in the second quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 19,003 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,242,000 after purchasing an additional 1,772 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on DUK. Mizuho set a $130.00 target price on Duke Energy in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Duke Energy from $135.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Duke Energy from $135.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $141.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $136.87.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of DUK opened at $132.53 on Monday. Duke Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $111.22 and a 1 year high of $132.65. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $122.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $122.36. The company has a market capitalization of $103.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.97, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.55.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $7.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.57 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.66 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th will be issued a $1.065 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 13th. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Duke Energy news, SVP Regis T. Repko sold 962 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.86, for a total transaction of $123,001.32. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 3,896 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $498,142.56. The trade was a 19.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Louis E. Renjel sold 6,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.67, for a total transaction of $868,156.00. Following the completion of 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. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Duke Energy

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

• Positive Sentiment: Brookfield completed a minority investment in Duke Energy Florida (9.2%), signaling outside capital for Florida infrastructure growth and a potential de?risking/partnering path for regional expansion. Brookfield Stake Reshapes Duke Energy Florida Growth And Investor Outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Duke Energy Florida reported its lowest average outage times in over 20 years — an operational win that supports reliability narratives and lowers regulatory/PR risk. Duke Energy Florida achieves lowest average outage times in more than 20 years
• Positive Sentiment: Market commentary on sector rotation spots Duke among blue?chip defensive names that could attract flows as investors rotate out of expensive tech; Duke’s dividend history and “all of the above” generation mix are cited as catalysts. 3 Blue-Chip Stocks Built for a Rotating Market
• Positive Sentiment: Recent analyst upgrades / favorable coverage have pushed DUK toward a 52?week high earlier this week, supporting momentum and investor sentiment around near?term upside. Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) Hits New 52-Week High After Analyst Upgrade
• Neutral Sentiment: Duke published guidance and customer?facing information explaining higher winter bills and outlining payment/assistance options — important for customer relations and potential regulatory scrutiny but not an immediate earnings surprise. Understanding higher energy bills this winter – and how Duke Energy can help
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro pieces highlighting falling interest rates as a potential tailwind for rate?sensitive utilities could support multiple expansion for Duke if the rate outlook continues to shift. Interest Rates Are Heading Down — These 3 Stocks Win Big When They Do
• Negative Sentiment: Evercore ISI issued a downgrade/negative note on Duke (coverage reported), which can cap near?term upside and adds analyst skepticism despite other favorable coverage; that pressure likely explains some intraday volatility. Evercore ISI Group downgrades Duke Energy (DUK)

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.