Duke Energy Corporation $DUK Shares Sold by New Age Alpha Advisors LLC

New Age Alpha Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 74,158 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 6,094 shares during the quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $9,177,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of DUK. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Access Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Bare Financial Services Inc grew its position in Duke Energy by 211.1% in the third quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 280 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the period. Anfield Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Duke Energy by 2,608.3% during the second quarter. Anfield Capital Management LLC now owns 325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 313 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Duke Energy in the third quarter valued at $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on DUK shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Duke Energy from $141.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $136.00 target price on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley set a $139.00 price target on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Friday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $136.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $137.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $135.75.

Duke Energy News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Nuclear/ratings lift: analysts and commentators are highlighting gains in Duke’s nuclear positioning and a positive reframing of its nuclear strategy, which supports capacity reliability and long?term earnings visibility. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley raised its price target to $139 (maintained Equal Weight), signalling modest analyst upside that can prompt buying. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Policy/revenue angle: Duke’s CEO publicly backed the administration’s push to make data centers “pay their fair share,” which could translate into higher utility revenues from large AI/data workloads over time. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Clean?energy rollout: company expansion of solar, battery storage, microgrids and virtual power?plant incentives supports future growth, resilience and regulatory goodwill. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Relative performance context: Duke has slightly underperformed peers recently, but analysts remain moderately optimistic — useful context for positioning but not an immediate catalyst. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Inclusion in dividend/utility stock roundups raises investor interest (income appeal) but is not an immediate earnings driver. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: filings show senior executives (including SVP Regis T. Repko) sold shares recently; recurring insider reductions can spook investors even if sales are small. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Customer/billing issues: Greater Cincinnati customers reported unexpectedly higher bills tied to a recent billing issue (and a $14M error reported elsewhere), raising near?term regulatory and reputational risk. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory/cost?recovery change: Duke will replace a ‘gas cost recovery’ charge with a ‘standard service offer’ in at least one territory — could change how fuel costs are passed through and affect short?term cash flows. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Rising short interest: short interest has increased meaningfully in February, which raises downside pressure and potential volatility around upcoming catalysts. Read More.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of DUK stock opened at $130.79 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $121.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $122.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $101.71 billion, a PE ratio of 20.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. Duke Energy Corporation has a 52 week low of $111.22 and a 52 week high of $131.57.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 9th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $7.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.57 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.66% and a net margin of 15.41%.During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.66 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be paid a $1.065 dividend. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 13th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.41%.

Insider Transactions at Duke Energy

In related 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 value of $123,001.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 3,896 shares in the company, valued at $498,142.56. The trade was a 19.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Louis E. Renjel sold 6,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,809,633.69. This represents a 23.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

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.