Merit Financial Group LLC Buys 9,562 Shares of Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Merit Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 15.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 70,388 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,562 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $8,910,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 78,258,757 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,172,709,000 after purchasing an additional 1,957,592 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,292,633 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,266,675,000 after purchasing an additional 230,375 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,931,127 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,046,818,000 after buying an additional 58,375 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,236,893 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $965,446,000 after buying an additional 954,907 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,758,700 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $960,139,000 after acquiring an additional 31,703 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays reduced their price target on Duke Energy from $140.00 to $132.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. KeyCorp raised Duke Energy from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $139.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $136.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Evercore upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $139.00 to $140.00 in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $134.00 to $132.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $138.44.

Trending Headlines about Duke Energy

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

• Positive Sentiment: Utilities could benefit from rising electricity demand tied to the rapid expansion of artificial-intelligence data centers. The trend supports Duke Energy’s long-term generation and grid-investment opportunity, although the referenced article focuses on utility ETFs rather than DUK specifically. Utility ETFs to Buy as Rapid AI Buildout Sparks Energy Crisis
• Positive Sentiment: Duke Energy has restored most power after severe storms in Greater Cincinnati, with nearly 223,000 outages addressed and crews working to restore the remaining customers. Faster restoration limits prolonged service disruption and reputational damage. Duke Energy restores 85% of Greater Cincinnati outages
• Neutral Sentiment: The Duke Energy Foundation announced $500,000 for North Carolina small-business programs and emergency grants for storm recovery in Ohio and Kentucky. The initiatives may support community relations but are not financially material to DUK. Duke Energy invests $500,000 to help small businesses
• Negative Sentiment: Duke Energy completed the sale of 40 million equity units. The financing provides capital for infrastructure and growth, but the additional equity can dilute existing shareholders and signals substantial funding needs. Duke Energy Completes Major Equity Units Financing Offering
• Negative Sentiment: North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson is challenging a proposed 6.8% residential rate increase and rejecting the related settlement. Regulatory opposition raises uncertainty over Duke’s ability to recover costs and earn its targeted returns. AG Jeff Jackson rejects Duke Energy settlement
• Negative Sentiment: A proposed Duke Energy plant is drawing opposition in Davie and Davidson counties, creating potential permitting, construction and political obstacles. More than 2,000 customers also remained without power during severe storms, highlighting near-term reliability and restoration costs. Duke Energy plant proposal draws opposition

Duke Energy Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE:DUK opened at $123.83 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $125.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $126.59. The stock has a market cap of $96.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.38. 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 Corporation has a 12 month low of $113.89 and a 12 month high of $134.49.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.13. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.78% and a return on equity of 9.78%. The company had revenue of $7.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.66 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.25 earnings per share. Duke Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.72 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a $1.085 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $4.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. This is an increase from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.06. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.17%.

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.