VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Takes Position in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 700,405 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $88,657,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in DUK. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 12,624.6% in 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 purchasing an additional 113,835,227 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 1.2% during 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 last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in 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 valued at $1,046,818,000 after buying an additional 58,375 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in 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 buying an additional 954,907 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased 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 buying an additional 31,703 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $120.11 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $124.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $126.44. Duke Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $113.89 and a fifty-two week high of $134.49. The firm has a market cap of $93.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.37.

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

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.085 per share. This represents a $4.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. This is a boost from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.06. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is currently 65.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Duke Energy from $134.00 to $132.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Duke Energy from $138.00 to $133.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Friday, July 31st. KeyCorp upgraded Duke Energy from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $139.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Mizuho set a $136.00 price target on Duke Energy in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $137.94.

Duke Energy News Roundup

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 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.