The Goldman Sachs Group Issues Positive Forecast for Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) Stock Price

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) had its price objective increased by The Goldman Sachs Group from $141.00 to $142.00 in a research note published on Wednesday morning,MarketScreener reports. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a buy rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on DUK. Scotiabank raised their target price on Duke Energy from $137.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $143.00 to $140.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $126.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Mizuho set a $130.00 price target on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Duke Energy from $126.00 to $125.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $134.19.

Duke Energy Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of DUK stock traded up $1.82 on Wednesday, hitting $127.02. The stock had a trading volume of 812,822 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,119,646. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.40. The business has a 50 day moving average of $118.27 and a 200 day moving average of $121.69. Duke Energy has a 12-month low of $110.51 and a 12-month high of $130.03. The stock has a market cap of $98.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.51.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 10th. 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 net margin of 15.41% and a return on equity of 9.66%. The business had revenue of $7.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.66 EPS. Duke Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.550-6.800 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Duke Energy will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.065 per share. This represents a $4.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 13th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is presently 67.41%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Robert Alexander Glenn sold 8,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.80, for a total transaction of $1,015,160.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 11,367 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,407,234.60. This represents a 41.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Duke Energy by 11,417.7% in the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 17,668,789 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,084,917,000 after acquiring an additional 17,515,383 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Duke Energy by 2.6% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 13.1% in the 4th 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. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $86,309,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Duke Energy by 448.9% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 826,296 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $102,254,000 after acquiring an additional 675,768 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Duke Energy

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

• Positive Sentiment: Goldman Sachs raised its price target to $142 and kept a Buy rating, signaling analyst conviction and ~12% upside vs. recent levels. Goldman Sachs Adjusts Price Target on Duke Energy
• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results showed a narrow EPS beat ($1.50 vs. $1.49) and revenue upside (~$7.94B vs. ~$7.57B est.), with FY2026 EPS guidance of $6.55–$6.80 — supporting investor expectations for steady utility cash flows. Q4 Results & Presentation
• Positive Sentiment: Commercial momentum: Duke added ~1.5 GW of new data?center deals in Q4, lifting its pipeline to ~4.5 GW and underpinning its expanded $103B capital plan and 5–7% EPS growth target through 2030. This supports long?term regulated growth and rate-base expansion. Data Center Deals
• Positive Sentiment: Financials: Duke reported nearly $5B net income for the year and recovered ~$3B in storm costs — both items that bolster near?term cash flow and regulatory filings that support rate requests. Net Income & Storm Cost Recovery
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst and call transcripts are being circulated (Argus, Seeking Alpha transcripts), offering more detail for investors but no major surprises beyond the beats/guidance. Earnings Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Political/regulatory risk: St. Petersburg is studying creation of a municipal utility and has begun accepting bids — a small but visible example of local moves that could threaten long?term service contracts and add regulatory/headwind risk. St. Petersburg Municipal Utility Study
• Negative Sentiment: Customer/backlash risk: Reporting highlights that customers may face higher bills as rate increases are pending — politically sensitive and could draw regulatory scrutiny even as it supports earnings. Customer Bill Concerns

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.